PlayLivestock rustling is reportedly on the rise with hundreds of animals being stolen from farms across the UK.
One farmer lost around a year's wages when nine of his rare breed cattle were stolen.
Gerrard Farmer said: "I was devastated. You spend a lot of time looking after these animals, nurturing them the way you want to and to provide a good product for people. And when folk just come and take them off you, I don't know where it is all going to end."
With meat prices rising, more sheep, cattle and pigs are being taken from these rural businesses.
Despite regulation for the industry, there is none for stolen animals, so the public remains exposed to a potential risk.
Tim Prince, a rural insurer, said: "The big concern about rustling is that livestock tend to be slaughtered inhumanly and then cut up and passed onto the public without the stringent requirements of modern food safety."
He added: "So we would say to people, if you're offered meat that's not from a butcher or a supermarket, don't buy it."
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