SYDNEY, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A slew of sheep thefts have hit southern farms in Western Australia in the past month, amid rising industry prices, according to local authorities.
In one of the latest incidents, police in Gnowangerup town sent out an alert for the thieves and urged the public to report any "suspicious vehicles" after 80 sheep were stolen in the area earlier last month.
At least four cases of stolen sheep totaling more than 50,000 Australian dollars (38,940 U.S. dollars) of losses were recorded in the region in the past weeks, including lambs of the prized merino wool, reported local media on Wednesday.
The thefts come at a time of rising prices in the industry -- demand for wool products showed an upward trend for 2017, with Australian wool prices soaring through the year and market indicators up more than 19 percent year-on-year with Chinese and European buyers forming the bulk of the major merino market, figures from the nonprofit Australian Wool Innovation industry group showed.
Theft of livestock is a "nationwide problem for Australian farmers," with a rising number of cases in South Australia and tougher penalties in New South Wales state rolled out for the crimes, the ABC News channel quoted agricultural advocacy group Western Australian Farmers Federation livestock executive officer Kim Haywood as saying.
"It's right across the board and across Australia, with the increasing value of sheep ... stock theft is on the increase," she said.
