Livestock Theft – By Kisean Joseph
Livestock Theft Rise Infrastructure
Praedial larceny in Antigua and Barbuda is being fuelled not by brazen criminality alone, but by the very conditions farmers are forced to operate in daily.
Dr Radcliffe Robins, a veterinary professional with over 30 years’ experience in the field, told Observer Media that while most livestock owners are doing everything within their means to protect their animals, the absence of proper farming infrastructure has created an environment that thieves are actively exploiting.
“The problem that exists in relation to praedial larceny is not enough prosecution, and also there’s not enough surveillance,” Dr Robins said, adding that many farmers who own livestock are genuinely doing the best they can within a system that has consistently failed them.
That system, he described, is one built on makeshift solutions. Without a formal livestock management framework, Dr Robins said animals across the country are being kept in rudimentary enclosures constructed from galvanized sheets, chain, and wire — structures that offer little meaningful protection against theft.
“The protection that you really need for your livestock is not there,” he said, “and that is what is being taken advantage of.”
On the question of legislation, Dr Robins acknowledged that a Cattle Trespass Act exists but said he was not sufficiently familiar with its provisions to speak in detail about them. He was, however, more confident on the legal framework governing dogs. The Dog Registration and Control Act, he noted, contains clear provisions making it an offence for any dog to be at large in Antigua and Barbuda — that is, not under the guidance and control of its owner. A dedicated body, the Dog Registration and Control Authority, was established specifically to enforce those provisions.
The contrast between the two frameworks, he suggested, reflects a broader gap in how the country approaches animal management — one that leaves livestock owners particularly exposed.
He added that the lack of serious attention from law enforcement compounds the problem. “It is something that happens, but it is not taken seriously,” he said of praedial larceny, warning that the cumulative losses being experienced by farmers are severe enough to drive people out of the sector altogether.
Dr Robins is calling for dedicated livestock infrastructure, stronger surveillance, and more consistent prosecution of theft cases as essential first steps toward protecting what remains of the local farming community.
