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Farmers must be defended against rustling


Farmers must be defended against rustling


"Livestock theft is the rural counterpart to urban burglary. It is becoming more prevalent and much of it goes unreported. Many of the thieves are becoming professional heavily armed rustlers. Yet penalties do not reflect the seriousness of the crime," said ACT Leader Jamie Whyte.

"ACT considers that it has not been dealt with in proportion to the hardship it creates. Farmers more often live in isolation. There are often no neighbours in walking distance who can keep an eye on rural properties. Response times from police can be lengthy because of the distances involved.

Livestock is a farmer’s stock in trade. They can have a serious effect on farmer’s livelihood. Stealing livestock puts fear into the rural community. The ACT Party supports tougher sentences as well as confiscation of weapons and vehicles used for livestock theft, in line with sanctions applied to fish poachers.

ACT’s Three Strikes for burglary will apply to rural thefts in the same way as city burglary.

ACT says the solution lies in stopping rural thieves getting into a pattern of constantly repeating their crimes.

ACT’s “three strikes” sentencing law will reduce rural crime by stopping burglars making crime a career option."

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