The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Red alert in the Angus Glens.
Targeted farmers and gamekeepers believe perpetrators may have local knowledge and could be stealing to order
A rural crime spree has struck the normally tranquil Angus Glens and put farmers and gamekeepers on red alert.
Several estates at Glenesk have suffered break-ins this month, after a number of legal predator control traps were targeted by vandals on local moors.
Residents believe the perpetrators must have local knowledge.
Gamekeeper Ali Brown of Angus Glens Moorland Group has witnessed damage to traps on his ground as well as the theft of workers’ machinery.
He does not believe the two are linked but said the situation has put everyone in the glen on alert.
He said: “It is quite sickening and worrying for people. Whenever we see trap damage now, we photograph it and send it straight to the police.
“That is an ongoing thing and I think a lot of that type of damage is due to people being ignorant of what these devices are used for in the countryside and having little respect for peoples’ property.
“In terms of the thefts, they are happening up single track roads so it looks as if these people have local knowledge. People in the country tend to be quite trusting.
It seems estates in the area are being targeted and it is important for everyone to stay vigilant and to make sure everything is kept secure at all times. MIKE LITTLEJOHN
“I was brought up a farmer’s son but I see things changing in the countryside. Rural crime is on the rise everywhere.”
The most recent incident last week was the daylight theft of tools including a welder, generator and power saw from an outbuilding belonging to a tenant farmer.
Vehicle tracks were found at the scene of one of the incidents but it is believed an earlier theft of tools was carried out on foot.
The first incident took place early this month when a shipping container sited by workers rebuilding a bridge on an estate was raided and hand tools stolen.
On the same evening, padlocks were cut on buildings at two farms although no items of value were removed.
“You don’t expect these kinds of things to be happening so far up the glen,” said farmer Mike Littlejohn, who reported a burglary to police last week.
“It seems estates in the area are being targeted and it is important for everyone to stay vigilant and to make sure everything is kept secure at all times.”
Legal predator control traps on moors have also been targeted which help vulnerable ground nesting game birds by catching abundant predators such as crows and stoats.