Cattle farmers in sections of Clarendon are to receive free tagging of animals, as part of a direct intervention by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to combat praedial larceny.
In a statement on Thursday (September 15), Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., decried the recent increase in reports of larceny of cattle in the Kensington/Alexandria area of the parish.
“This threat to the livelihood of our hard-working farmers and the agricultural sector will not be tolerated, and we will deploy all the available resources in our arsenal in the fight against this menace,” the Minister said.
He noted that one of the strategies being employed by the Ministry is the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS), which requires all cattle to be identified with ear tags and corresponding passports.
This system, which was implemented in 2015, facilitates the identification of stolen cattle, even in the absence of eyewitnesses.
“As of next week, we will be having a direct intervention in the affected area, providing free tagging of animals for the cattle farmers and I will personally be on location to expedite this process,” Mr. Charles announced.
He urges all cattle farmers islandwide to have their animals tagged, as the service is free of cost.
“The tagging system is supported by [a] Genome Sequencer, which will facilitate cattle identification once the cattle have been tagged and sampled – whether the animal has been slaughtered or not. This way, beef carcasses can still be identified once the owners comply with the tagging requirement and have the DNA of their cattle registered,” the Minister outlined.
This combination of tagging and technology will ultimately establish a bank for DNA identification, he said.
Stakeholders, especially farmers, are being reminded that it is illegal to buy, sell or slaughter cattle that are not affixed with the NAITS ear tags.
Persons breaching the NAITS regulations on the marking of bovine animals, will be subject to fines or imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Mr. Charles has thanked the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for their urgency in rectifying the most recent incident involving farmers in Clarendon, and for swift action in recovering the stolen cattle.
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