Stock theft is costing the Queensland beef industry in excess of $2.1 million a year, leading AgForce Cattle to instigate a series of meetings with the Queensland Police Service and other government agencies to discuss rural crime.

AgForce Cattle director and Harrisville beef producer, Ian Harsant, said the first meeting was held today with the Queensland Police Service’s Stock and Rural Crimes Squad (SARCIS), the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries and Biosecurity Queensland.

Mr Harsant said one of the main topics was the need for the Department of Public Prosecution to appoint a specialist rural crimes prosecutor.

During the three years from 2005-07, there were between 2300 and 4700 cattle reported stolen annually with only about one-third of them being recovered.

"Laws relating to stock identification, stock theft and food safety have been set up to protect the industry and commercial cattle producers," Mr Harsant said.

"We believe a specialist prosecutor is the best way to ensure that those breaking the rules are prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and that penalties imposed are appropriate.

"Stock theft and fraud is a specialist area of law involving many quite complicated industry systems and laws. With many new technologies aiding the development of a case against ‘cattle duffers’, including NLIS and the use of DNA markers, the police have even more complex forms of evidence being brought into a case.

"AgForce believes only a prosecutor with significant experience will be able to bring a case through to a successful outcome, and we have written to the DPP’s acting director Paul Rutledge and Attorney General Kerry Shine with that request."

Mr Harsant said he expects other industry groups will support its request for a new specialist position and invited intensive beef producers, dairy farmers, stock and station agents and livestock transporters to today’s meeting to enable a supply-chain approach to finding solutions to the problems.

"AgForce is keen to ensure that the paperwork burden on producers is kept to a minimum but we also need to ensure our $3.7 billion dollar beef industry is protected from fraud and stock theft, and that brands and earmarking are effectively used to identify the owners of stock."