THE Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is calling for more action from Victoria Police to combat livestock theft which is costing farmers more than $1 million annually.

VFF Livestock Group president Chris Nixon has written to Victorian Police Commissioner Simon Overland, requesting a meeting to discuss ways to deal with the issue.

“Livestock theft is perhaps one of the oldest and most widely known crimes in Australia,” Mr Nixon said.

“We’ve grown up listening to how the jolly swagman hid the jumbuck in his tucker bag. Yet here in Victoria, we presently have no dedicated police resourced to livestock theft, as is the case in other state jurisdictions.”

Mr Nixon said a combination of high livestock prices – especially for sheep – as well as a lack of dedicated police resources made livestock a lucrative target for thieves.

Reported incidents of stock thefts across Victoria cost farmers $871,692 in 2003-04 and $542,784 in 2006-07.

“As fluctuations in livestock prices make up a large amount of this variation, due to the present record high livestock prices, the VFF estimate the cost to industry to be greater than $1 million over the 2009-10 period,” Mr Nixon said.

Mr Nixon said to properly address stock theft, farmers need an increase in police resourcing and increased penalties for convictions.