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Price: 85p (IR 1.30 EURO) Saturday, February 4, 2012



2
7
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A
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niversa
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A NUMBER of UUP MLAs
privately discussed going
into opposition to the DUP
less than a month ago, while
most of them did not know
the party was engaged in
talks with the DUP.
The News Letter has learned
that just four weeks ago
the partys MLAs discussed
leaving the Executive despite
six-month-old talks on unity
with the DUP.
The revelation comes after
a turbulent week for the party
dominated by the McNarry-
Gate Affair. See page 8
UUP talked
opposition
My farms been
robbed 14 times
A NORTH Antrim farmer whose
property has been robbed 14 times
has told of his anger over thieves
sending his insurance through
the roof.
Cullybackey man Wilbert Han-
na, 59, who runs a beef and dairy
farm, said thieves have taken
more than 50,000 of equipment
from his premises over the last
four years.
Mr Hanna, who has CCTV cam-
eras and extensive security at his
property, said that just two weeks
ago he spotted two masked men
prowling around my yard.
We caught them on camera,
he said.
We know the boys because we
have seen them here before. We
have to lock everything up now
and practically nail it down.
The cost of insurance is crip-
pling but you have to insure
against these criminals.
PSNI Superintendent Brian
Kee told the News Letter he be-
lieved the vast majority of crime
in rural areas is carried out by
travelling criminals or opportun-
istic thieves.
This would be people who will
call into farms looking for work
and wanting to cut silage or to
paint. If they see an opportunity
to steal a quad and tools they will
come back in the subsequent
days, he said.
While the vast majority of rural
criminality is perpetrated by trav-
elling criminals, there is an ele-
ment of organised criminality.
Turn to page 5
Cullybackey farmer Wilbert Hanna says thieves have stolen equipment worth over 50,000 PICTURE: John McIlwaine
A MAN is his 20s is understood
to have taken his own life in
a shooting incident at a hair
salon in Dungannon.
It is reported that the man
entered the hairdressers on
Carland Road, close to the
town centre, at around 4.15pm
yesterday.
Police said they were not
looking for anyone else in
connection with the death.
One witness, who passed
the scene a short time later,
said: A young woman was at
the bottom of the stairs to the
salon and she seemed to be in
a very distressed state.
Man dies
in shooting
INSIDE
Prizes galore for
Beef Shorthorns
PAGES 14-15
UGS focuses on
changing market
PAGES 32-33
Saturday, February 4, 2012
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Justin Magilton and Josh Kearney with one of the special entries in the Downpatrick Co-Op Calf and Dairy stock sale which will take place on Saturday 11th February 2012. See inside for more details.
PICTURE: KEVIN MCAULEY PHOTOGRAPHY MULTIMEDIA
Sharp increase in
TB reactor cases
REPORTS of a sharp increase in the number of TB reactors on local farms has led to calls for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to introduce practical bio-security measures. More than 180 new incidents of TB were reported in November last year - an increase of just under 20 per cent. Fears have also been expressed that the rise in TB reactors, if left unchecked, could cost the local
economy upwards of 23 million. Ulster Unionist Agriculture spokesperson Jo-Anne Dobson MLA said: I was alarmed when I heard that 182 new herd incidents of TB had been detected in November last year and that in percentage terms cases have increased by over 18% on last years fgures. It is a worrying trend that fgures are on the up. Mrs Dobson questioned the minister directly regarding these concerns at Stormont this week. Speaking after, Mrs Dobson explained: Whilst the minister
recognised the complexities of identifying TB and acknowledged that her department needed to work harder on the issue, she did say that different people have different ideas about how TB can be dealt with. I am sure that many farmers were happy to hear that the minister isnt ruling any of these ideas out, but they would rather hear if she will ever rule anything in! In the short term, DARD must consider measures to help farmers put in place practical solutions to help reduce both herd incidences
and the considerable fnancial burden to both the Northern Ireland economy as a whole and the agri-food industry. Measures such as securing feld boundaries between herds will considerably reduce the risk of the disease passing between neighbouring herds. Initial costs will be reversed by keeping down TB incidences and the resultant reduction in compensation payments. UFU president John Thompson explained the union was aware
BY ANDREW CROMIE
Continued on page six
by GEMMA MURRAy
gemma.murray@newsletter.co.uk