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Vol. 19, No. 7, Wednesday, January 10, 2024 www.LamontLeader.com
Fence-cutting criminals leave farmers frustrated in Lamont County BY JANA SEMENIUK A string of crime in Lamont County over the past week has included not only break and enters involving vehicles crashing through walls at both the Lamont Esso and a Mundare liquor store Dec. 30, but also incidents of fence-cutting. Lamont County farmer Shannon Desrosiers said barbed wire fences, surrounding her 80 acres of land south of Chipman, have been cut twice since Dec. 30, among several other fence cutting incidents experienced by her neighbours. She said nothing was stolen from her however seven of her 40 horses escaped the field. “I’ve been out here 17 years and I’ve never had issues like I’ve had in the last two years,” said Desrosiers, who breeds and raises horses on her farm. She added that her truck was also stolen two years ago and she’s never been notified by police if an arrest was ever made. “My neighbour (got) pictures of the person who stole it. I even found their phone underneath my truck. Nothing ever came of it (with police),” she said. Meanwhile, on Dec. 28, Desrosiers said she noticed four horses, that weren’t hers, loose on the road. “We called the RCMP (because) these horses are out (and) we don't know who they belong to. The branch inspector asked if we could catch them, but that’s not safe if we don’t know the horses,” she said, adding they eventually found the owner. Two days later on Dec. 30, Desrosiers noticed some of her own horses missing. “I noticed seven of my horses were missing. They ended up getting out onto Range Road 185 into a salvage
Little to no help from RCMP “I am worried about people getting killed” - Desrosiers
Lamont County farmer Shannon Desrosiers holds up a piece of cut barbed wire from her damaged fence Jan. 7. Desrosiers and her neighbours have experienced several incidents of fence-cutting since Dec. 30. Photo: Jana Semeniuk yard,” she said. “The horses were very nervous. My friend who boards horses with me found quad tracks in the back and my fence cut in four different spots.” Desrosiers reported the crime to the RCMP and said she is very worried about horses being on the loose in the
county. She said horses can be hit by vehicles putting drivers and their passengers in danger. “I love my animals but I'm more worried about people getting killed. You can't replace a person,” she said. “I’m worried they will get on a highway and kill someone.”
Meanwhile, Desrosiers fixed her fences and decided to keep her animals on the front 10 acres of her property until she felt confident the fences on her back property wouldn’t be hit again. Her friend’s fences were next. On Jan. 2, Desrosiers got another call from a neighbour alerting her that her horses were out. “It turned out to be my friend’s horses. They cut her fence in three spots and four of her horses got out. One did get injured (this time). It’s a little lame (but otherwise ok),” she said. Then, sometime in the night between Jan. 6 and 7, Desrosiers’ fence was hit again. Fresh quad tracks in the snow ran the length of her fence line. She said she doesn’t know where to turn for help. “I've tried talking to the County of Lamont they said they don't deal with it. I've talked to the RCMP - they didn't even come out. Thankfully we found our horses, loaded them up and brought them home,” she said. “I just feel there’s a lot of injustice happening to us rural people lately.” Desrosiers said she hasn’t had anything stolen during the recent string of fence-cutting incidents and feels the criminals are cutting through her property to get to other’s property. “I would say (they are probably after) copper wire or anything not tied down that can be stolen and they can get money for. They are not stealing horses, they are just causing damage,” she said. Desrosiers said she has spent roughly 10 hours fixing fences so far. An email into the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP was not responded to before press time.