Two men have been sentenced following the theft of livestock worth nearly £30,000 from numerous farms in the north east of Scotland.
Lloyd Fowlie, 32 and Craig Arbuckle, 30 were convicted by jury at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on 20 December 2019 and sentenced on Friday 7 February.
They had been charged with the theft of 14 cattle worth nearly £30,000 from Kinellar and Monymusk in June and July 2016.
They stole the animals from Lower Todlachie, Monymusk, Inverurie, between 14 July and 23 July 2016.
The pair were both handed eleven month restriction of liberty orders and ordered to undertake 300 hours of unpaid work with 18 months to complete it.
North East Division's Rural Crime Lead, Chief Inspector Norman Stevenson, said: “The conviction is welcomed and a testament to all involved that rural crime and the safety of those in such areas is taken very seriously.
“We recognise the devastating impact that rural crime can have on local businesses and the livelihoods of those living and working in our rural communities, which makes us all the more determined as a collective to prosecute those responsible.”
Lorna Paterson, Regional Manager at NFU Scotland added: “NFU Scotland cannot ever condone rural criminality within our community and anything relating to rural crime, be it livestock worrying or theft is a complete blight on the countryside.
“We'd like to acknowledge the work of the North East Rural Crime and Safety Partnership and we are certain the wider rural community will be grateful for their efforts and success.
“NFU Scotland always welcomes the successes which our Police Scotland staff achieve through collaboration and we will continue to work closely with their staff and other stakeholders in order to mitigate incidents and activities of this type.”
