The report highlights the effectiveness of the data provided through the new tag technology designed by Australian company Ceres Tag for both promptly alerting farmers to a stock theft, and enabling a rapid and effective response and recovery by law enforcement.
The ‘mock theft’ involved monitoring data from 20 tagged sheep as they were moved from the UNE SMART Farms towards the Tamworth abattoirs on 29 March, with near instant notifications alerting the research team to a problem.
“Twelve minutes after the arrival of the thieves, a formal ‘high activity alert’ was received from six of the 20 tags indicating the sheep were being ‘agitated’ – or moving much faster than normal – which suggests a problem,” Dr Kyle Mulrooney, Co-Director of the UNE Centre for Rural Criminology, said.
“A formal notification that the tags had then breached the established geofence – as the sheep were being ‘stolen’ – was received in 33 minutes.”
Through the constant feed of data, police from the Rural Crime Prevention Team (RCPT) within the NSW Police Force were able to track and intercept the vehicle with the sheep within 25 minutes following notification of the theft, then successfully recover the stock.
It’s a major step forward for farmers locally and globally.
“Part of the issue this unique technology addresses is the ability to recognise that a stock theft has actually occurred in the first place, so it can be reported in a timely manner to police. This has been difficult in the past, given the distance, remoteness and considerable size of rural properties. This time lag often leaves little evidence and a reduced capacity for police to intervene,” Dr Kyle Mulrooney says.
“Stock theft has therefore been a relatively low-risk crime to commit, so it’s unsurprising that 44 per cent of NSW farmers that responded to the 2020 NSW Farm Crime Survey had experienced livestock theft, costing the state’s farmers tens of millions each year,” he said.
The new tag technology by Ceres Tag monitors an animal’s activity, and can promptly alert farmers via their phone or mobile device of any unusual movement, based on a baseline pattern of the animal’s normal behaviour.
Using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology, the Ceres Tag also monitors the wearer’s location. Bespoke alerts can also be programmed into software such as Mapipedia to promptly recognise any potentially serious activity, such as if the animal breaches a pre-determined geofence boundary.
“These alerts and continuous tracking capability can dramatically reduce the time lag that commonly occurs between the stock theft and any reporting to police, allowing the police gather evidence and investigate and, ultimately, to intervene rapidly in the theft and recover the stolen stock,” Dr Mulrooney says.
While Dr Mulrooney recommends continuing to collect data as it comes to light from real life situations – not just from the controlled test environment – he is confident the technology can offer better protection and peace of mind for farmers.
“We are hopeful improved technology such as Ceres Tag will increase confidence amongst farmers that these devastating crimes are able to be dealt with, resulting in a higher reporting of rural crimes and therefore a higher clearance rate.”
The final report on the trial of the Ceres Tag technology by the UNE Centre for Rural Criminology outlines the full details of the trial as well as an evaluation of the technology.
