A 13-year-old farmer from County Londonderry has been left “gutted” after thieves stole the 11 calves she’s been rearing.
Police believe the calves were taken from a field on Glenshane Road, near Claudy, sometime between 24 and 30 September.
Kelsey Hasson said she was “raging” that someone would come and take her Charolais calves.
“I just want them brought back,” Kelsey told BBC News NI.
Her dad Damien said the 13-year-old had put her heart and soul into caring for the young cows. He estimates the cost of the theft is somewhere between £8,000-£15,000.
“But to Kelsey they are priceless,” he said.
The 13-year-old loves farming, she loves feeding the cows and driving tractors, Damien said.
“She has put all her time and effort into the calves because she is saving, She wants to buy a house when she is older,” he said.
Kelsey and her father hope anyone with information will do the right thing and come forward.
“The calves will not be too far away, I would think,” Damien said.
“It might be that they are hidden in someone’s shed, something like that, but someone has to know where they are”.
Independent MLA Claire Sugden also asked anyone who is offered calves for sale under suspicious circumstances to contact police.
She said the theft “has left a young girl, who is a very keen and ambitious young farmer, extremely distraught”.
Police are also appealing for information.
They are keen to hear from anyone who saw any suspicious vehicles in the Brackfield Bawn area of the Glenshane Road to contact them.