That was the message from stock and rural crime investigation (SARCIS) squad Detective Senior Sergeant Jim Lacey to a group of graziers at St Lawrence on Monday.

“We get a complaint and quite often it is six months down the track,” he said. “We are on a very cold trail and your cattle could be in South Australia, have gone through the meatworks or are on a boat heading out of the Northern Territory.”

Thanks to a restructure and extra funding that has hubs based in Rockhampton, Mareeba and Toowoomba, SARCIS is now better equipped to chase rural crime.

“In the past, it used to be that you made a complaint and were told to muster, talk to your neighbours and then come back to us.

“We still do that, but we record your complaint and we send out the information about missing stock, and our guys are out there at the sale yards.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Lacey said he was usually asked whether there had been an increase in cattle theft with the rising value.

“Quite often is more a case of management. If there are more cases coming forward, it tends to be that people are keeping a closer eye on their cattle.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Lacey said SARCIS was focused on fighting rural crime through its statewide Operation Gatekeeper, and pig hunters were a focus.

While it was important to note that not all pig hunters were bad, there were some hunting off-road and causing significant property damage, he said.

Landholders reported cut fences and in some cases cattle were shot to attract pigs.

“We’ve had issues where the landholder have chased them over their property and have written their utes off.

“You are putting your life in danger.”

Under Operation Gatekeeper, any ute that looks as though it is involved in pig hunting is inspected and police record all identifying features, including the dogs.

“This information goes into our database, right down to the description of a particular bald tyre.

“When you see these vehicles on your property, you don’t often get the chance to take down the registration, but as each ute is different we can compile photos and make a match to your description.”

There have also been problems around Dysart with some people using semi-automatic firearms with silencers, which are illegal, to shoot feral deer.

SARCIS has launched a smartphone app that gives instant access to its blog site and enables users to upload photographs of suspicious activities, or they can send an email and police will get in touch.

“We just don’t want you putting yourself in danger.”