Farmers, enraged by the attack on one of their colleagues and the increase theft of the crops, are appealing to the authorities to grant them the use of licensed firearms to protect their property.
Legislator Keith Clouden, who represents farmers in the Senate, said that the farmers are of the view that the guns would be a major deterrent.
“Because of their experience in the past, farmers have realised that being in possession of a firearm has in fact been a deterrent to some extent. In many instances in the past, farmers who have had firearms have witnessed a decline in acts of praedial larceny.
Police have reported a five per cent increase in cases of praedial larceny over the past three years. So far this year, there have been 266 cases as compared with the same number for all of 2007.
But a senior government official believes that the authorities should not rush into providing guns to the farmers.
The farmers have also complained that a 30-member Praedial Larceny Squad established six years ago to tackle the problem remains under staffed and under equipped.
Parliament recently amended the legislation regarding praedial larceny, increasing both the jail terms and the fines for convicted persons.
But Clouden said the courts were not imposing the stiff fines on perpetrators and as a result there is need to further amend the laws governing praedial larceny.
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