A 67-year-old Tumoulin man and a 20-year-old Moomin man have been charged with stock stealing related offences on the Atherton Tableland.
Investigators from the Major and Organised Crime Squad Rural (formally known as Stock Squad) were called to a rural property in Tumoulin for a suspected cattle stealing offence on Saturday February 17.
Senior Constable Aleda Day said inquires revealed that a Brahman steer had strayed from a nearby property in 2015 and joined the Tumoulin man’s herd.
Senior Constable Day said discussions between the land owners were unable to come to a suitable agreement on how best to return the steer to its rightful owner after discussions of agistment payments were mentioned.
The Tumoulin man instead arranged for the animal to be shot and butchered and to take the meat as payment for feeding costs. The owner of the steer was coincidentally nearby at the time and observed the beast being butchered and called police, she said.
As a result the 67-year-old Tumoulin man and a 20-year-old Moomin man were both charged with stealing an animal that is stock and killing an animal with intent to steal and are expected to appear in the Atherton Magistrates Court on March 6.
Officers from the Major and Organised Crime Squad Rural (MOCS Rural) stressed that straying stock remain the property of the owner regardless of time and any costs that other landholders may have incurred.
Landholders who are unable to return straying stock to the owner should contact their local council for impoundment, they advised.
If you have any questions in relation to Stock Crime or cattle ownership please contact your nearest MOCS Rural.