Shaw wants justice for murdered goat farmers

Agriculture Minister Audley Shaw has called on the police to leave no stones unturned in bringing justice to the families of two goat herders who were murdered in Westmoreland this week.

The bodies of Henry 'Maas Hen' Jones, 65, and Brian 'Fowlie' Chambers, 44, both of Crowder district, in Grange Hill, were discovered on Tuesday morning in bushes in a section of Grange Hill, known as Jacob Hill Mountain.

Reports by the police are that both men left home about 6:30 a.m. on Monday to tend to their herd of goats on a property located at Jacob Hill Mountain.

The murders follow a shooting incident which took place in Spanish Town, St Catherine last Friday morning. In that attack a goat farmer and two other persons were injured.

In condemning the murders in Westmoreland, Shaw said that the incident underscores the extent to which criminals are prepared to "go to reap what they have not grown".

"I urge members of the public to come forward with any information that you may have that could assist the police in a speedy resolution of these murders," Shaw said.

He urged farmers not to take matters into their own hands, but to report incidences of praedial larceny to the police.

"I wish to assure you that while praedial larceny continues to be a challenge for the sector, the police continue to make strides to apprehend those who rob our farmers and fishers with some 41 arrests made during January to October 2021," Shaw said.