Goats placed on ID parade - Cops tell owners of stolen animals to identify them

The Mandeville police are urging goat farmers across Manchester who have had their livestock stolen to claim them.

This follows the discovery of 26 goats in a section of Green Acres in the parish yesterday. Two men were arrested.

Commanding officer of the Manchester police, Superintendent Gary Francis, told THE STAR that based on investigations, the goats belong to multiple individuals.

Find the owners

"We are investigating to find the owners because it is not from one person, because persons already came in to identify one and two of them," he said. "The one person who already came to identify a goat came from like four miles away from Mandeville so it seems they have stolen and gathered them."

Francis said it is a challenge to identify goat owners because there is no 'DNA bank' for goats.

"So somebody has to come and thoroughly describe a goat that was stolen from him or her and some goats have name too, so that would be easy for the owner. We have had situations where an owner turn up for his goat and as he walk by where they were being held, he just ran out to its owner like a child," he said.

Francis said police officers are also being forced to take on the role of farmers, as they have to get feeding for the animals until they hand them over. Francis said he has deployed a special unit to quell praedial larceny in larceny.