Arresting the menace of cattle rustling

The problem is a global world one. Some countries have introduced special legislation and deployed special law enforcement units to specifically address the growing threat.In Nigeria, the private Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) said that rustlers killed 322 herders and stole 60,000 cattle in 2103 in some states in the northern parts of Nigeria. […]

The problem is a global world one. Some countries have introduced special legislation and deployed special law enforcement units to specifically address the growing threat.
In Nigeria, the private Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) said that rustlers killed 322 herders and stole 60,000 cattle in 2103 in some states in the northern parts of Nigeria. The figures could be much higher, given the many reports of the targeted killing of herdsmen in the southern parts of the country and rustling of their cattle. The figures also did not take account of rustling activity in a number of other states in the north with large populations of cattle breeders.
In some states, like Plateau for instance, communal conflicts have tended to exacerbate the problem.
The matter has reached such levels that the time has come for the government to design policy responses to it. There are models to study in adopting any strategy to deal with the issue.
In Scotland for example, 130 cattle were stolen in 2012. In the first 11 months of 2013, the number of cattle stolen increased to over 300, spread across Scotland’s 20 counties.  In that comparatively vibrant economy, the development was seen as a national calamity.
Although there were no reports of fatalities among the farming population affected by activities of rustlers, local leaders there warned that people could no longer say that rustling was a border issue involving a few communities. It was now a national problem.
In Nigeria, the law should be reviewed and strengthened to make cattle rustling a serious crime punishable by severe penalties.
Beyond the law and its enforcement, organisations like MACBAN and the bigger regional Pastoral Resolve, should spearhead the setting up of a compensation fund to aid affected cattle breeders.
This can be done in association with the insurance industry and the assistance of government.
This is important because the problem goes beyond the theft of cattle and the possible loss of lives of herders in the hands of rustlers who are known to be well-armed and organised, sometimes are provided with cover by corrupt law enforcement personnel. It has wider national health implication for the people. Rustled cattle are routinely killed and their meat taken to open regular markets for sale.
This is usually done in unlicensed therefore unhygienic environment with all the attendant health hazards. This is a public health issue that should not be taken lightly.
Government-approved abattoirs should be able to monitor the cattle they handle in order to determine their sources and vendors.  
The bottom line in all this is that the dangerous turn that the rustling of cattle has taken in the country should attract the attention of the government and the National Assembly.
Most of the cattle rustling activity take place in the most agriculturally productive areas of the country, in rural areas where security presence is also thin.  
The police authorities need fashion out a response mechanism by training and deploying special detachments to deal with the situation, and stem the crime of cattle rustling and the killing of herders and breeders before it gets out of hand.