Prevention: E-tag plan aims to check cattle theft

We are requesting various government and non-governmental agencies to financially support the project, said police.

FAISALABAD: The district government has started an electronic-tagging project for cattle to check their theft in Faisalabad, the district police chief said on Wednesday.

“After the animals are tagged, their movement can be monitored through satellite surveillance,” City Police Officer (CPO) Dr Haidar Ashraf said, praising the livestock scientists at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) who had worked on the project to implant chips under the animals’ skin. “The completion of this project would help the livestock farmers protect their animals against theft,” the police officer added.

“Satellite surveillance of the animals through the e-tag system is very effective but it is rather costly. We are requesting various government and non-governmental agencies to financially support the project,” Ashraf stated.

“When all cattle in the district are tagged, the police would be able to locate the stolen or snatched animals and also trace the cattle thieves without losing time.” He said that initially, the initiative would be launched as a pilot project and later replicated throughout the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2014.