Farmers lives at risk as praedial larceny continues

At least one farmer is calling for more support from the police as it relates to the safety and security of the lives and property of farmers who continue to be the target of thieves for months on end.
Eustace “Sheppie” Anthony is making the appeal in the wake of last week’s discovery of an illegal animal slaughtering site (abbatoir) in the Perry Bay area.
He told OBSERVER media, “Right now the farmers ‘fraid for dem life because the man an dem a come and dem a t’ief de animals and dem a walk with gun, dem strapped. We have situation that we see dem push gun in dem waist and have gun in dem hand, what else we must do?”
He said recently a farmer and his family were held at gunpoint and robbed at Betty’s Hope.
The farmer said he and many of his colleagues have been taking their own precautions but at times the situation is more than the farmers can handle and when they turn to the police for help, it’s useless.
“Me haffu deh let go me goats and dem 2 o’clock a morning because of thief. Dem men just a come cut rope, bruk in yuh pen and t’ief. A day me a feed minutes to 2 and me hear action in a next man yard,” he recalled. According to him, the thieves were caught on camera in the area but when the video and still shots from the video were taken to the police, lawmen said “de photo and dem not clear enough.”
Anthony continued saying that it is frustrating farmers to the extent some are tempted to take “the law into our own hands but we don’t want to do that. But, we nar get no satisfaction from the police.”
The heads of over 100 goats and sheep were found, along with the headless carcasses of some of the animals which were at varying stages of decomposition, suggesting that for a long while the site was being used to kill the animals which the police believe were stolen from bonafide livestock farmers.
Attempts by OBSERVER media to reach the Minister of Agriculture, Dean Jonas, were unsuccessful, but he was on state media recently, expressing support for the farmers.
He acknowledged that very often they lose money due to the theft of their animals, and he said he hopes the police remain vigilant and capture and prosecute the perpetrators. Late Thursday, the police apprehended an individual believed to be linked to the illegal slaughtering in Perry Bay and suspected theft of livestock.
The minister said that based on the number of dead animals and heads found, it appears there is a praedial larceny ring.
Eustace “Sheppie” Anthony is making the appeal in the wake of last week’s discovery of an illegal animal slaughtering site (abbatoir) in the Perry Bay area.
He told OBSERVER media, “Right now the farmers ‘fraid for dem life because the man an dem a come and dem a t’ief de animals and dem a walk with gun, dem strapped. We have situation that we see dem push gun in dem waist and have gun in dem hand, what else we must do?”
He said recently a farmer and his family were held at gunpoint and robbed at Betty’s Hope.
The farmer said he and many of his colleagues have been taking their own precautions but at times the situation is more than the farmers can handle and when they turn to the police for help, it’s useless.
“Me haffu deh let go me goats and dem 2 o’clock a morning because of thief. Dem men just a come cut rope, bruk in yuh pen and t’ief. A day me a feed minutes to 2 and me hear action in a next man yard,” he recalled. According to him, the thieves were caught on camera in the area but when the video and still shots from the video were taken to the police, lawmen said “de photo and dem not clear enough.”
Anthony continued saying that it is frustrating farmers to the extent some are tempted to take “the law into our own hands but we don’t want to do that. But, we nar get no satisfaction from the police.”
The heads of over 100 goats and sheep were found, along with the headless carcasses of some of the animals which were at varying stages of decomposition, suggesting that for a long while the site was being used to kill the animals which the police believe were stolen from bonafide livestock farmers.
Attempts by OBSERVER media to reach the Minister of Agriculture, Dean Jonas, were unsuccessful, but he was on state media recently, expressing support for the farmers.
He acknowledged that very often they lose money due to the theft of their animals, and he said he hopes the police remain vigilant and capture and prosecute the perpetrators. Late Thursday, the police apprehended an individual believed to be linked to the illegal slaughtering in Perry Bay and suspected theft of livestock.
The minister said that based on the number of dead animals and heads found, it appears there is a praedial larceny ring.