The African Farmers Association of SA (Afasa) has warned of a rocky festive season for livestock farmers who stand to lose their animals due to theft driven by a higher demand for meat.
Afasa Limpopo provincial secretary Albert Matshili said while livestock farmers will be sleeping with one eye open amid fears that their cattle would be stolen and sold off cheaply on the black market to feed the increasing demand for meat during the festive season.
Matshili said the organisation received more complaints from its members between October and January every year..
“We are heading towards the holidays when people will be in need of a lot of meat. From now up until after the new year is a very critical period,” he said.
Matshili said many farmers were starting to give up on their businesses because of the rampant stock theft.
Over the past 10 years, cases of cattle, goats, sheep and other animals being stolen across the country surpassed the 20,000 mark; there were 28,418 cases recorded during the 2019/2020 financial year and 26,310 cases in 2020/2021.
On Thursday, Abram Nembahe, from Folovhodwe Village outside Musina, Limpopo, lost 15 goats.
Nembahe said he has incurred a loss of more than R60,000 plus the expenses of grooming the goats over the past two years in the hope of selling them for R1,800 each.
“The problem is that people are happy to buy a goat for R600 from these thieves which is cheap. This season people will be enjoying stolen meat but they are promoting stock theft. We as farmers will be suffering,” Nembahe said.
He said there was also a market for stolen meat in places like Musina, where owners of local chisa nyamas sell a plate full of meat at a very low price because they rely on a cheap supply.
“I wish people could buy directly from farmers and stop buying from these people,” Nembahe said.
Dokotela Ravele, 71, a livestock farmer from Ha-Vhangani Village, near Vuwani, has lost 20 cows between 2015 and October 2022.
“This is painful because I have lost plus minus R200,000. I’m even thinking of leaving everything. I can say that financially I’m broke because maintaining cattle is expensive these days,” Ravele said.
Provincial police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said they were aware that people and business owners and locals were increasingly buying meat on the black market, especially during the festive season.
Festive season is theft season for stock farmers
Everyone likes cheap stolen meat, even the cops
Image: SAPS
The African Farmers Association of SA (Afasa) has warned of a rocky festive season for livestock farmers who stand to lose their animals due to theft driven by a higher demand for meat.
Afasa Limpopo provincial secretary Albert Matshili said while livestock farmers will be sleeping with one eye open amid fears that their cattle would be stolen and sold off cheaply on the black market to feed the increasing demand for meat during the festive season.
Matshili said the organisation received more complaints from its members between October and January every year..
“We are heading towards the holidays when people will be in need of a lot of meat. From now up until after the new year is a very critical period,” he said.
Matshili said many farmers were starting to give up on their businesses because of the rampant stock theft.
Over the past 10 years, cases of cattle, goats, sheep and other animals being stolen across the country surpassed the 20,000 mark; there were 28,418 cases recorded during the 2019/2020 financial year and 26,310 cases in 2020/2021.
On Thursday, Abram Nembahe, from Folovhodwe Village outside Musina, Limpopo, lost 15 goats.
Nembahe said he has incurred a loss of more than R60,000 plus the expenses of grooming the goats over the past two years in the hope of selling them for R1,800 each.
“The problem is that people are happy to buy a goat for R600 from these thieves which is cheap. This season people will be enjoying stolen meat but they are promoting stock theft. We as farmers will be suffering,” Nembahe said.
He said there was also a market for stolen meat in places like Musina, where owners of local chisa nyamas sell a plate full of meat at a very low price because they rely on a cheap supply.
“I wish people could buy directly from farmers and stop buying from these people,” Nembahe said.
Dokotela Ravele, 71, a livestock farmer from Ha-Vhangani Village, near Vuwani, has lost 20 cows between 2015 and October 2022.
“This is painful because I have lost plus minus R200,000. I’m even thinking of leaving everything. I can say that financially I’m broke because maintaining cattle is expensive these days,” Ravele said.
Provincial police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said they were aware that people and business owners and locals were increasingly buying meat on the black market, especially during the festive season.
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Mojapelo said stock theft was a widespread problem across the province, adding that they were encouraging owners to brand their stock to make it easier for them to be traced.
“We also get complaints about some of our members, who are colluding with syndicates, and we encourage people to report such cases,” he said.
On Saturday, police reported that 11 cattle were recovered during an operation to crack down on a gang suspected of being behind incidents around Tolwe in Lephalale.
On Friday, a 40-year-old man was arrested during a patrol in Ga-Moloi, near Nebo, after he was discovered with cows that had been crammed into a bakkie and bound with rope.
According to national crime stats, there were 6,456 cases recorded during the first quarter of 2022.
Limpopo recorded 663 cases during the same period, reflecting an increase of 148 incidents compared to the same period last year.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
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