Not even the threat of going to prison for up to 10 years for the illegal slaughter of cattle stopped this crime in Villa Clara, which closed 2022 with unprecedented figures of 12,237 head of cattle stolen or slaughtered. These events rebounded 200% compared to the previous year and are leading the peasants to create guard bodies to watch over the cattle.
The data were published this monday for Granmaunder the title Impunity, scourge of livestock. In the text, the official newspaper is inclined to show cases of producers who managed to confront criminal groups, but offers figures that show that the crisis in the sector worsened in 2022, both due to criminal acts and the lack of food and water to keep cattle.
Roberto Pérez García, in charge of the Genetics and Livestock Registry of Villa Clara, explained to the newspaper that theft and illegal slaughter of cattle registered an excessive growth last year with 8,166 cases, more than double the 4,071 reported in 2021. Those accounted for in 2022 they correspond to 2.4% of the equine and vaccine mass of the province, added the official, who acknowledged that the figures could be higher because not all the facts are denounced or known by the authorities.
This figure does not include the 22,000 cows that died last year in the same province due to lack of water, food and medicine.
Furthermore, this figure does not include the 22,000 cows that died last year in the same province due to lack of water, food and medicine. Pérez García recognized that the preventive control of the unit that he directs was lacking, as well as “the joint action” of other institutions to accompany the producers in the care of their animals.
The official indicated that these are historical records, since only in November the number of stolen cattle rose to 1,800, a similar figure for December.
“Sometimes they say that the peasants kill our cattle because we don’t take care of them, which may be true, but I assure you that the only thing left is to put the cattle to sleep inside the house. Do you know where they had my oxen when they took them to me?, in the doorway of the house, and even so they had no mercy with an old man over 80 years old”, laments Rodríguez Alfonso. “Never before had the same vandalism been experienced.”
With the economic crisis and food shortages, cattle rustling has become organized by gangs that clandestinely slaughter the animals and then sell the meat on the black market at gold prices. Many producers do not report to the authorities because they are threatened or because the Police do not attend to the cases.
The lack of inputs for the manufacture of fences and other protection and security mechanisms also hinders the care of livestock
The lack of inputs for the manufacture of fences and other protection and security mechanisms also hinders the care of livestock. The possession of weapons in the hands of ranchers is prohibited and to defend their animals they must call on the guards with machetes or build improvised devices that serve as shotguns.
Yusniel Benavides Gutiérrez, chief prosecutor of the province’s Department of Criminal Procedures, assured the newspaper that only 1% of the cases reported last year reached the courts, despite the great impact these crimes have on economic activity.
“These are complex situations to clarify, because they occur in intricate areas and there are many delays in filing the complaints, which limits the opportunity for the investigation, to which is added the existing lack of control in the cattle mass in all places,” he said. The prosecutor.
Benavides Gutiérrez recalled that the penalties for these crimes are from four to 10 years in prison for illegal slaughter, or from three to eight years for trading meat on the black market. However, the gangs of butchers managed to evade the authorities and, as in Villa Clara, also in the province of Tunas There was a record growth in these events at the end of last year with the theft of 5,305 head of cattle, some 2,207 (71.2%) more than in 2021.
Both producers assure that they had the support of the Ministry of the Interior, but it is not the constant in the rest of the territory
The official newspaper points out that the same situation was experienced in the base business unit of Juan Pedro Carbó Serviá, from Placetas, until Midiala González Madero took over the management of the entity and met with the workers and residents of the area to “commit them in solving the problem.”
“Without inflating the workforce,” said the woman, a body of custodians was created to monitor and count the cattle.
In the same sense, Yamilé Báez Fernández, president of the Bernardo Díaz cooperative, from Cifuentes, said that she has not suffered from theft or animal sacrifices for 10 years. The woman indicated that a patrol system was formed with 60 members of the institution, who rotate to provide surveillance in the pastures.
Both producers assure that they had the support of the Ministry of the Interior, but it is not the constant in the rest of the Cuban territory where the criminals intimidate the producers, as happened last week in Cienfuegos, where the rancher Yordany Díaz was murdered after confronting to a gang that had killed a cow on his property. In this fact, the authorities have not provided more details than those that came out on social networks, nor informed about the capture of those involved.
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