Editor, RE: “Nyagatare residents urged to fight cattle rustling” (The New Times, August 20). How will cattle rustling end in Nyagatare and elsewhere if, during the meeting held in Musenyi trading centre in Karangazi, cattle farmers were advised by various authorities to keep fighting cattle theft using the same method that has not worked so far? Ordinary people do not know a lot about various methods of crime prevention and for me, it was up to the Police and other officials who were in that meeting to provide farmers with additional possible methods that can be used against cattle thefts. A seasoned rustler cannot be deterred from stealing cows by mere warnings however serious they may be, even if the warning came from a security personnel. If the authorities seriously want to combat cattle rustling, they should think about introducing branding and ear tagging to identify each cow in the region; thieves do not like brands and would think twice before stealing a branded cow. In the near future, using technology, our farmers could even be able to monitor the location of each cow and be able to recover it once it is stolen. This is not far-fetched. I understand a certain Ugandan invented an app that can be installed on a boda boda to monitor its location. Our young engineers from Kepler and elsewhere can easily do the same. Seth
