Acording to the Sunday Telegraph horse rustling is on the increae at the moment, particularly involving piebalds and skewbalds.
Rustlers target British paddocks as US demands trophy horses
By Jasper Copping, Sunday Telegraph
Horses and ponies are being stolen and shipped to the United States to meet soaring demand for "coloured" mounts, experts warn.
Gangs are targeting piebald and skewbald horses and the growth in thefts has led to predictions of the worst year on record for rustling.
Once considered deeply unfashionable, piebald (black and white) and skewbald (any other colour and white) horses have enjoyed an amazing surge in popularity both in Europe and America.
A traditional coloured cob – a well-built, weight-carrying mount – can now command up to £60,000 in America, offering huge profits on the £3,500 cost of transport.
According to the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH), a charity with officers in Britain and America, thieves are using loopholes to secure "passports" for stolen animals, transporting them to Europe or Ireland with legally obtained horses, and then flying them to the US.
Paul Teasdale, the league's chief investigator, said: "There are huge amounts of money involved and people are stealing them for America because that is where the money is."
Allison Williment, an ILPH officer investigating the trade, said: "Dealers are drawing together about 100 horses and then sending them across the Atlantic. Many of these may be legally obtained but we know that some have been found to have horses that are not theirs."
So far this year, 60 horses have been reported stolen in the UK, a large proportion of which are "coloureds". The figure includes 18 taken during the past five weeks.
In the Thames Valley area, 23 horses have been stolen since January, twice the number taken in 2004 and 2005 combined. Of those stolen this year, just 14 per cent have been recovered, compared with 43 per cent last year.
Although a passport scheme was introduced in 2004, in part to combat horse rustling, delays in updating the national database mean that gangs can easily obtain documentation for stolen horses.
Det Insp David Collings, an equine liaison officer with Hampshire Police, said it was relatively easy to get stolen horses out of the country. "Horses are a thieves' paradise. When stolen ones are mixed in with others, it is very difficult to detect."
Helen Evans, a co-ordinator for Horsewatch, which monitors the thefts, said: "We're heading for our worst year on record."
The organisation had received reports that a dealer had 75 coloured horses on a field close to Harrow, Middlesex. Locals thought he was trying to collect 100 to take to America.
Horsewatch officers went to see if any had been stolen, but the animals had been moved overnight.
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, more than 1,000 horses were flown to the US direct from the UK last year. The department does not record numbers taken to France and Ireland because of an agreement between the governments and the large numbers moving between the three countries. Almost 5,000 horses, however, were transported from the UK to other countries in the EU last year.
Larry Heuer, who works for the IPLH in America, said stolen horses were being transported on specially adapted cargo planes flying regularly from Holland to New York, New Jersey and -Kentucky.
"Our customs guys don't care where the animals come from and don't recognise the British passport anyway. They just want to know whether they have diseases," he said.
Sisters Kathy Spencer and Sylvia Roy had five Shetland ponies, including three skewbalds and a piebald cob, called Benji, stolen from a field in Chorleywood, Herts, during two raids last month.
Mrs Spencer, 57, said: "We are heartbroken. It is not knowing about what's happened to them and whether anyone is looking after them that is the worst part
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I can;t begin to imagins how their owners must feel. The case in Harrow is intruiging though. 75 horses disappearing overnight must have involved a hell of a lot of horseboxes.
Rustlers target British paddocks as US demands trophy horses
By Jasper Copping, Sunday Telegraph
Horses and ponies are being stolen and shipped to the United States to meet soaring demand for "coloured" mounts, experts warn.
Gangs are targeting piebald and skewbald horses and the growth in thefts has led to predictions of the worst year on record for rustling.
Once considered deeply unfashionable, piebald (black and white) and skewbald (any other colour and white) horses have enjoyed an amazing surge in popularity both in Europe and America.
A traditional coloured cob – a well-built, weight-carrying mount – can now command up to £60,000 in America, offering huge profits on the £3,500 cost of transport.
According to the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH), a charity with officers in Britain and America, thieves are using loopholes to secure "passports" for stolen animals, transporting them to Europe or Ireland with legally obtained horses, and then flying them to the US.
Paul Teasdale, the league's chief investigator, said: "There are huge amounts of money involved and people are stealing them for America because that is where the money is."
Allison Williment, an ILPH officer investigating the trade, said: "Dealers are drawing together about 100 horses and then sending them across the Atlantic. Many of these may be legally obtained but we know that some have been found to have horses that are not theirs."
So far this year, 60 horses have been reported stolen in the UK, a large proportion of which are "coloureds". The figure includes 18 taken during the past five weeks.
In the Thames Valley area, 23 horses have been stolen since January, twice the number taken in 2004 and 2005 combined. Of those stolen this year, just 14 per cent have been recovered, compared with 43 per cent last year.
Although a passport scheme was introduced in 2004, in part to combat horse rustling, delays in updating the national database mean that gangs can easily obtain documentation for stolen horses.
Det Insp David Collings, an equine liaison officer with Hampshire Police, said it was relatively easy to get stolen horses out of the country. "Horses are a thieves' paradise. When stolen ones are mixed in with others, it is very difficult to detect."
Helen Evans, a co-ordinator for Horsewatch, which monitors the thefts, said: "We're heading for our worst year on record."
The organisation had received reports that a dealer had 75 coloured horses on a field close to Harrow, Middlesex. Locals thought he was trying to collect 100 to take to America.
Horsewatch officers went to see if any had been stolen, but the animals had been moved overnight.
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, more than 1,000 horses were flown to the US direct from the UK last year. The department does not record numbers taken to France and Ireland because of an agreement between the governments and the large numbers moving between the three countries. Almost 5,000 horses, however, were transported from the UK to other countries in the EU last year.
Larry Heuer, who works for the IPLH in America, said stolen horses were being transported on specially adapted cargo planes flying regularly from Holland to New York, New Jersey and -Kentucky.
"Our customs guys don't care where the animals come from and don't recognise the British passport anyway. They just want to know whether they have diseases," he said.
Sisters Kathy Spencer and Sylvia Roy had five Shetland ponies, including three skewbalds and a piebald cob, called Benji, stolen from a field in Chorleywood, Herts, during two raids last month.
Mrs Spencer, 57, said: "We are heartbroken. It is not knowing about what's happened to them and whether anyone is looking after them that is the worst part
*********
I can;t begin to imagins how their owners must feel. The case in Harrow is intruiging though. 75 horses disappearing overnight must have involved a hell of a lot of horseboxes.
I cant put a pic of mine up!! Im jealous now!! KNow exactly wher eyoure coming from LE - they are the biggest con artists out there - safe ladies hackabouts - my arse..... :lol: :lol: :lol:
