'Why can we not slaughter stray cattle in town centre'

The problem of stray cattle “crazing” the streets of Louis Trichardt is becoming a frequent problem.

On Sunday, the newspaper was alerted to a herd of cattle relaxing and grazing in the municipal park on the corner of Joubert and Krogh Street, right next to the town’s civic centre. “Quickly go there and see for yourself if this is how animals should be left to stray into town as if they are wild animals,” said the caller.

When the reporter arrived at the scene, there were a few people who stood by, looking at the cattle in wonder. “Look how fresh they are; this is real meat,” commented a woman. “They should allow us to slaughter and share among us, because they don’t look after them.”

However, one man was quick to add: “But they look traumatised. It is as if they can sense that they are lost, that they are in a wrong place.”

The general feeling, however, among onlookers was that stray animals inside the town not only pose a risk of accidents to motor vehicles, but they are a “disgusting sight which reduces our town to a grazing wilderness of the sort”.

“I have seen cattle roaming the streets of our town on several instances, and each time I see them I get disappointed when I think that they belong to someone who is being negligent,” the woman said. “How do you sleep peacefully when you know that your livestock is perambulating the streets or roads?”

Meanwhile, Makhado municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi said that the municipality applies the Limpopo Pounds Act to enforce its regulations on stray animals. He said that once they are alerted of any stray animals or whenever they bump into them while straying, they are then loaded and impounded.

“There are fines that are determined by Council,” he said. “The owner will be fined R500 per head for just straying, and R12 per head per kilometre whenever we have to load and transport them to the pound area in town.” He explained that added to the R500 fine per head and R12 per kilometre fee, R35 is charged per cow per day for feeding.

“We are making an appeal to livestock owners to take care of them in order to avoid, among others, road accidents,” he said. “However, we always educate the community through various platforms such as Farmers Associations, district campaigns, and visiting traditional councils and arrive alive campaigns.”

Date:22 August 2021

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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