GANGS of professional poachers could be stealing animals to order in the Westcountry.

Police said they suspected organised poachers were at work after the discovery of a notebook with orders for beef, poultry, lamb, pork, fish and venison was discovered during an investigation.

It is feared people's health could be put at risk if unhygienic supplies of meat are entering the market.

The revelation came to light after officers said they were investigating the deaths of three sheep which had been savaged by dogs.

Officers believe the animals' horrific injuries at Buckfastleigh in South Devon, may have been caused by criminals trying to steal the livestock.

They revealed that the notebook was found during a separate investigation into poachers who were prosecuted for shooting deer at Haldon, near Exeter.

In the latest case, on Monday, the sheep belonged to Dutch farmer Dick Beijen of Seale Stoke Farm, Holne.

He found one sheep which was seriously injured, with its ear bitten off. He said: "It was in a lot of distress so we had to put it out of its misery."

On inspection of the field, he found two more dead sheep.

He said: "We had 65 sheep there and some were still unaccounted for, but found some alive in nearby fields.

"Two sheep are still unaccounted for but we found the skin of one, but not the carcass.

"For a whole sheep skin to have been taken, it must have involved human hands.

"It is very upsetting. This has been my first experience of something like that and I hope it is my last. It's awful to see your animals suffering like this."

PC John Fisher from Devon and Cornwall Police said the theft of livestock had become more prevalent over the past few years.

"This activity is criminal and the level of cruelty inflicted on the sheep is really worrying," he said. "It's obvious it wasn't stray dogs, as an animal was skinned.

"People are involved and we want to know who they are."

PC Fisher urged people to be on their guard, and to report to the police any sightings of lurcher dogs which had been cross-bred with bull terriers.

"Countrymen have traditionally hunted rabbits for the pot with lurchers, but we are now seeing a new cross-breed with a bigger head and larger jaws."

Ian Johnson, of the National Farmers' Union, said he had heard no evidence from farmers that theft of livestock was becoming more common, but said news that a trend could be developing was "disturbing".

He said: "It could be an off-shoot from the credit crunch. People are finding life difficult, and food bills aren't getting any cheaper. People probably want the meat, but don't want to pay for it."

But he warned the practice was "very dangerous", for health and safety reasons. "If a farmer started killing livestock willy nilly, the authorities would come down on them like a tonne of bricks, and for good reason," he said.