Farmers who have lost stock to rustlers have a new way of hitting back at them.
An online mapping system launched this week will allow them to report and track suspected stock thefts.
The Stop Stock Theft service is a joint initiative between Crimestoppers NZ, NZX-Agri and police.
Federated Farmers rural security spokesperson Katie Milne says rustling is costing farmers millions of dollars a year and appears to be on the increase, here and world-wide.
She says it's difficult for police and farmer victims to track down stock thefts, and the new system will help.
She says it will give police some concrete information on which to base investigations into stock theft.
Ms Milne says she has already used the site herself to report spot-lighting activity on her farm.
She says she'd like the stock theft tracking service to be extended to include all farm property thefts.
