Does anyone else think this is a good idea?

[carys220]

If we all stop posting 'sightings' unless they are confirmed by the police. I have noticed that these vehicles have been 'sighted' in different parts of the country at the same times so either it's not rue or the vehicles have been cloned. Either way I think everyone needs to take it easy and let the police do whatever they are doing(they do work in mysterious ways). It is a good idea to make your yard or field extra safe and may be set up a local watch with anyone who lives near.

I don't know about anyone else but all of the posts are making me a little stressed, especially as horses have been stolen from about a mile away from where mine are kept(although I can't get anymore info about this).

Does anyone else agree with me? If not please tell me to shut up! I've just noticed how many posts there are in here. Maybe it would be a good idea to have one post for 'White van' sightings?

There you go, that's me done!

 

[em21xx]

im mixed with this really. i think its a good idea to keep the topic surfacing and keep people aware but at the same time i know what you mean about calming down and leaving the police to it. so all in all, my comment has been pretty useless, sorry!

 

[felicity1]

i think we should only react and post what we know as fact which has been confirmed by the police otherwise we are adding fuel to an already raging fire which is leading to confusion and panic and a horse world in such dissaray that if these people are serious horse thiefs they will get exactly what they want , OUR HORSES , be security conscious and vigilant but with a smattering of calm and reasoning

 

[Donkeymad]

Well, I saw at LEAST 11 white vans today.

Non of them had anything to do with horse thefts. So I agree, leave it until there is CONFIRMATION from local Police. All these posts are un neccessarily worrying people.
Just keep up high security standards, which you should at all times anyhow.

 

[Arch99ck]

I do agree but i would rather know whats happening if anything at all... My local police station will not give out any information other than keep vigilant...

 

[oinkmoooink]

Yeah im thinking im safe....but then they were seen in berkshire yesturday???
So were gonna padlock our field gates anyways, as theres footpath going through them...so cant tell people off for being in there!

 

[Lottiedude]

I agree, an official sightings thread, with confirmed thefts would be very useful.
I'm going to email our local HorseWatch sceme and ask if someone would please join the forum to provide confirmed information.

Still, it pays to be extra vigilant, regardless of rumours...

We should all familiarise ourselves with the missing horse database too. We all rely on one another within the equine community, and hope that if our horses were stolen another horse owner would spot them, so they could be safely returned. Perhaps it's time we all take responsibility to keep our eyes open, when viewing horses, when visiting auctions and whenever a new horse is seen in the area.
If we all pull together, we can make a difference!

 

[Ticktockted]

I agree we should calm down with the posted sightings, however our local police stations in Cumbria knew less than the local horse community and one station knew nothing about it! I do think it is our duty as horse owners to use our knowledge and contacts to help educate to police on horse theft as our local stations didnt realise that horses can often be shipped off abroad etc. I do feel that too many horse thefts are just 'open and shut cases' never to be seen again, thus made easier by the new 'passport' system. But back to the white van subject, we do need to keep an eye out for anything susspicious and report to police not just white vans as they could well have several vehicles and there are more horse thieves in the world than these brought to our attention. I don't think this should be allowed to die down totally and has certainly made me re-think security!