The theft of vehicles and equipment from a Waimate farm under quarantine as a result of Mycoplasma bovis has left the farm's manager upset and confused as to why the property was targeted.
Over the weekend, a Honda 420 quad bike, three motorcycles - a Suzuki DR200, Yamaha TT80 and Honda CRF70 - a ride-on lawn mower, several Makita power tools, two chainsaws, a posthole driller and several other pieces of equipment were stolen from the property just outside Waimate.
The farm is part of the van Leeuwen Dairy Group that owns the property near Glenavy where the disease was first detected last year.
Farm manager Xavier de Weert said, as the property was quarantined by the Ministry for Primary Industries, the equipment had been sterilised and was stored in a container.
He suspected the person or people who carried out the crime knew the property would be uninhabited at the time.