The latest NFU Mutual Annual ‘Rural Crime Report’ highlights that the UK bears the cost of £44.5 million every year as a result of illegal activities.
This is a substantial increase of 13.4 percent since 2016.
In terms of agricultural vehicle theft, quad bikes are a particularly lucrative target for thieves, with the report revealing recent costs of stolen quad bikes to the UK as £2.3 million.
As part of it's response, the NFU has renewed it's long standing partnership with stolen vehicle recovery firm Tracker.
Sam Durham, NFU chief land management advisor said: “As the NFU stated in its Combatting Rural Crime report , high value machinery often cannot be replaced swiftly and theft puts agricultural operations at risk, from feeding livestock to harvesting crops. "Tracker provides an important part of a farm’s arsenal of security equipment, helping to deter criminals or ensure the swift recovery of stolen vehicles and machinery.”
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