Rural crime in Wales has surged by 18%, even as the rest of the UK sees a sharp decline - prompting insurers and rural industry leaders to raise fresh concerns about risk exposure and police resourcing.
According to NFU Mutual’s 2025 Rural Crime Report, the cost of rural theft in Wales rose from £2.4 million to £2.8 million last year, making it the only UK nation to record an increase. The national picture tells a different story: across the UK, rural crime costs fell by 16.5% to £44.1 million - the lowest level in five years.
Gemma Haines, of the FUW, called the Welsh figures “disappointing” and stressed the wider toll on farming communities.
“Rural crime continues to have a serious impact on farmers and their families, not only financially, but also... the mental health implications are vast,” she said. “As an industry, it demonstrates that we still need to continue to push for better resourcing.”
NFU Mutual’s rural affairs specialist, Hannah Binns, acknowledged the positive impact of collaboration but emphasised that the fight is far from over.
“The fall in the estimated cost of rural crime this year reflects the concerted efforts of insurers, lawmakers and law enforcement to disrupt the organised criminal gangs which prey upon the countryside and the high-value equipment needed for modern farming,” Binns said.
“Although this fall is welcome, it doesn’t diminish the real fear that rural crime causes farmers and other members of the countryside community. The financial toll remains significant, and the disruption and stress... cannot be quantified. Farmers have a deep connection to their land... and the knowledge that they could fall victim to a criminal raid is a daily struggle.”
Binns also underlined the need for sustained partnership efforts. “Even one incident of rural crime is one too many,” she said. “That’s why NFU Mutual has committed to provide funding for the National Rural Crime Unit and to fund the UK’s first livestock theft officer until at least 2028. Only a coordinated response can hold back the continuing organised crime that is a scourge on our countryside.”
Asked about Wales’s divergence from the national trend, Binns pointed to a combination of organised activity and regional fluctuations in claims.
“Rural crime has become increasingly organised and determined in recent years,” she said. “Last year Wales saw an increase in quad bike theft, some GPS unit theft, as well as some large sheep thefts - resulting in an increased estimated cost. However, Wales does still have a low base point compared to other areas in the UK.”
Haines noted that South Wales Police currently lacks a dedicated rural crime unit, unlike many English counties - a point of growing concern for the FUW.
“Ensuring police forces have the resource and the budget available to rural policing teams... is just so fundamental to the relationship with farmers in their local areas,” she said. “We will continue to encourage our members to report crimes and take steps to protect their property, but ultimately local forces must be properly equipped.”
While the FUW welcomed efforts from national rural crime liaison officer Rob Taylor and collaboration with road policing teams, Haines said the absence of a specialist team in South Wales left farmers exposed.
NFU Mutual’s latest claims data confirms that criminal tactics are becoming more targeted and persistent.
“In recent years, we’ve seen rural crime become more organised, serious and persistent in nature,” Binns said. “Although agricultural vehicle theft claims across the UK fell 35% to an estimated £7 million, and GPS theft costs dropped 71% to £1.2 million, other areas rose.”
“Tractor thefts increased by 17% to £1.5 million, and trailer theft rose 15% to £1.3 million,” she noted. “This underscores the importance of marking equipment and enhancing security measures.”
Haines echoed this, citing Wales’s strategic transport routes and rural road network as contributing factors.
“We have ferry ports and quick routes out of the country,” she said. “For targeted crime, this possibly enhances the ability to get assets out of the country very quickly... and rural areas without ANPR coverage make things harder to track.”
Both NFU Mutual and the FUW urged farmers to take proactive steps, including installing trackers, using forensic marking technology, and reporting all incidents.
“We’re really keen to encourage our members to take those offers up when the police forces have that resource available,” Haines said. “We’re hopeful we can continue the work and see a reduction in those numbers going forward.”
