Farmers must arm themselves to repel thieves
Published:Wednesday | April 10, 2013 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
Barbara Gloudon, in an article published in the Observer on March 22, 2013, points out the difficulties of farming in Jamaica, especially with thieves raiding your fields at day or night. She points out that praedial larceny is not an agricultural matter, but rather a police matter. I tend to agree. The arresting of thieves on the farm is not the farmer's duty; it is the police's.
We do not have agricultural police, or rangers, in sufficient supply to act against these thieves. And clearly this could be helped by 'borrowing' from our armed forces and put into action, until we train more persons to fill all the various stations or locations that are necessary.
CALAMITY FOR POOR
Yet with the price of food these days, the theft of one cow and two goats is a significant loss, about $50,000, plus one would have to do without the cow's milk. This is a calamity for the rural poor.
Where there is inadequate policing on farms in Britain or the United States, farmers tend to use a reloadable pellet shotgun or BB gun. We are having our own problem with the issue of guns. We then would need to adopt a procedure for dealing with unwanted pilferage, and gun accidents.
The first step the farmer would take is to set up traps and property warning signals; then, consult with the police or rangers. If the farmer is unable to get help from the police, he should apply for a licence to obtain a pellet gun or a shotgun. The licence should mandate training and range practice.
RAMESH SUJANANI