83 percent of farmers say they should have the right to bear arms to defend their property

The majority of the 264 farmers who took part in Macra na Feirme’s Young Farmer Survey for 2016 believe they should have the right to bear arms to defend their property.

Half have already been affected by rural crime, one respondent said ‘There needs to be an app or some text service that allows people to give information if they see suspicious activity. Currently you only can contact crime stoppers if you see a crime being committed.’

Another said, ‘A lot of people take photos of their yards and post them up on social media, this is heaven for robbers.’ One more who responded said if a trespasser enters property with the intent to commit a crime the farmer should have the right to do whatever is necessary to protect their land because if nothing is done, ‘What stops others from going into farms and doing the same?’