Dartmoor now 'a Wild West' for sheep farmers

Alex Ross speaks to an eighth-generation shepherd on the national park who has lost thousands of animals to rustlers

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A much-loved national park where herds of sheep graze has been likened to the Wild West by a farmer who says he has lost thousands of ewes to thieves over the past decade.

Colin Abel’s family has been farming sheep on Dartmoor National Park since the 1880s, but a rise in sheep rustlings across the vast moorland is now pushing his eighth-generation farm to the brink.

Around 440 of Mr Abel’s 4,400-ewe flock were reported stolen during an annual count in November last year, up from around 200 the year before. And with each sheep valued at £120, the 56-year-old said the crime cost him more than £50,000 last year.

The seized sheep were among at least 1,101 recorded stolen last year by Devon and Cornwall Police, where officers suspect farming industry insiders are involved. The data, obtained by The Independent, showed there were 182 incidents in 2023, although this could be due to a lower level of reporting.