Last weekend, the members of the West Berbice Sheep and Goat Farmers Association were reflective rather than high-spirited as they celebrated their 8th Annual Livestock Exhibition.
Noel Holder
West Berbice is the single largest region for the rearing of sheep and goats in Guyana. But the members of the association, a few of whom own upwards of 1,000 head of livestock, have become regular targets for thieves who pay clandestine visits to the farming communities at night and make off with more than a dozen sheep and goats at a time.
An executive member of the association who agreed to speak with this newspaper on condition of anonymity said the rustling has reached a point where it is beginning to force some farmers out of business. And while at last Sunday’s event Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had said that his ministry would move to introduce a Praedial Larceny Bill in the National Assembly shortly, Stabroek Business was told that the law notwithstanding, enforcement could be a problem.
The theft of sheep and goats, this newspaper understands, has become a well-rehearsed operation that can net a single rustler up to $500,000 per hustle. The association’s executive told Stabroek Business that the thieves usually rent cars at around $10,000 per trip and make their way to a selected sheep and goat-rearing community. They strike at night, raiding pens and bundling up to around 14 animals into a car before making off. Once they arrive at their destinations the cargo is unloaded and the car washed and returned to its owner.
It is the belief of the farmers that the stolen animals are taken mostly to the village of Mon Repos on the East Coast Demerara where they are either slaughtered for sale or disposed of live. Mon Repos Market, incidentally, is known for its vending of mutton and goat meat (chevon).
The association officials believe that the farmers have done everything that they can, their most recent initiative being to collaborate with the