Stuff understands Karl Maguire is the prime suspect for the cow thefts at Ashburton’s Norvo farm.
A farm manager has been sacked after 500 cows disappeared under his watch.
It’s understood Karl Maguire is the prime suspect for the cow thefts at Ashburton’s Norvo farm.
Police were notified on August 25 that up to 500 cows were unaccounted for after a staff member noticed “things weren’t adding up” after the cows returned from grazing.
Mark Saunders, speaking on behalf of the 1300-cattle farm, said the farm manager, understood to be Maguire, was dismissed in the last 10 days.
Police confirmed an employee was of interest to their inquiry and warned farm owners to do careful background checks when hiring.
“We are devastated. It’s heartbreaking really,” Saunders said.
Maguire worked at the farm for about four years.
“It’s harrowing, our focus now is around supporting our good staff who are with us and realigning the farm to get the day to day activities running well.
“It’s a busy time of the year . . . there’s been no break so when you take a person of responsibility out of the mix, it’s got to be filled by someone, so we’ve been all hours of the day trying to hold the place together.”
Saunders said staff were “struggling” to pin-point when the cows went missing.
He hoped people would come forward with information.
“We hope the community can continue to support us and the police – others know, others definitely know.”
Senior Sergeant Scott Banfield said a farm employee was “pivotal” to the investigation.
“Our inquiries are centred around that person and his activities.”
He would not confirm if police were treating Maguire as a suspect.
Banfield said the investigation established several cattle over a long period of time were unaccounted for and the farm’s auditing systems and processes “may have been open to abuse”.
“Police strongly urge all farmers to review their own business practices, systems and auditing processes to provide them with business reassurance and mitigate any potential risk.
“It is also a reminder for prospective employers to thoroughly check all potential employees’ references and backgrounds before hiring.
“This is particularly important when employing someone who may have a direct role in day-to-day business operations or finances.”
Banfield said police had spoken to several people about the alleged theft.
For now, there was insufficient information to progress the matter further.
“The file remains open and the investigation may be scaled up again should any further new information come to light,” Banfield said.
Shareholder Troy Hinton-Bosch earlier said the cows were not insured for theft.
According to industry figures, the missing cows would have been expected to produce about 188,000 kilograms of milk solids, or 2.25 million litres of milk, this season.
Fonterra, the dairy processor the farm supplies, recently increased its milk price forecast for the current season to $4.75kg milksolids, which means a potential loss of more than $890,000 for the farm owners, and possibly about $1 million with Fonterra shares included.
That was on top of the value of the cows and their calves, which would top $1m.
Source: Stuff
