By Val Matthias. Updated 9:33 p.m., Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
The Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines is considering new legislation that could allow farmers to use technology to track the movement of their livestock, as part of efforts to combat praedial larceny.
Agriculture Minister Israel Bruce says proposed traceability regulations and related legislation are currently before the Attorney General for review.
Speaking on Boom FM’s morning programme om September 1, Minister Bruce said the initiative would create a connection between an animal and a digital device, allowing farmers to monitor its movement in real time.
The minister explained that under the proposed system, an owner could potentially receive information on a device if an animal is moved from one location to another.
He gave the example of an animal being taken from one area and moved to another location, with the owner being able to see that movement on a gadget linked to the animal.
The proposal forms part of the government’s continuing efforts to address praedial larceny, a long-standing problem affecting farmers across the country.
The theft of livestock and agricultural produce has been a persistent concern for the farming community, with many producers reporting financial losses as a result of stolen animals and crops.
St Vincent and the Grenadines already has legislation designed to tackle the problem. The Agricultural Produce and Livestock (Prevention of Theft) Act of 2007 established measures aimed at preventing the theft and illegal sale of agricultural produce and livestock.
Those measures include the registration of persons involved in the sale of agricultural produce and livestock, requirements for documentation and receipts, and provisions governing the transportation of produce and animals.
The legislation also requires livestock to carry forms of identification approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and places responsibilities on buyers and sellers to maintain records of transactions.
However, the government now appears to be exploring whether technology can strengthen those existing safeguards.
Earlier this year, officials outlined what they described as a multi-pronged approach to tackling praedial larceny.
Measures under consideration include the use of technology, the possibility of tougher penalties for offenders and the establishment of a dedicated praedial larceny unit.
The Ministry of Agriculture has also previously indicated that technology could play a role in helping farmers protect their assets and assist law enforcement authorities in gathering evidence for prosecutions.
For now, the traceability initiative remains at the legislative stage, with the proposed regulations and legal framework still under review by the Attorney General’s office.
But if approved and implemented, the system could introduce a new technological tool in the fight against livestock theft, giving farmers greater oversight of their animals and potentially making it more difficult for stolen livestock to be moved undetected.
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