26 cattle recovered during stock theft raid in Mpumalanga

A total of 26 cattle have been recovered following a stock theft raid which was led by acting provincial commissioner, Major-General Zeph Mkhwanazi in Verena in Mpumalanga.

After years of uncontrollable stock theft in the area farmers can finally breathe a sigh of relief as renewed efforts by police to combat the scourge seem to be yielding positive results.

This raid was aimed at combatting the escalating stock theft crisis that has left farmers vulnerable and threatened their livelihoods.

Mkhwanazi has urged farmers to play their part by not employing illegal and undocumented workers for cheap labour.

The acting Mpumalanga Police Commissioner says disputes between employers and undocumented employees often lead to the latter retaliating by stealing livestock.

This is allegedly because they believe it would be challenging for authorities to track them down given their absence from the home affairs system.

Farmers have been urged to be vigilant and regularly inspect and count their livestock.

“Because if this is not happening, it gives us a big problem. The poor fencing of the camps as well as of the farms, brings a lot of problem. Because we cannot have those stock grazing anywhere. But they can assist us and make sure that it is closed. I think the unemployment rate is a problem in the province … [we] need to make sure that we control the issue of stock theft,” explains Mkhwanazi.

He has pleaded with farmers to also play their part.

He says fines will be issued to farmers who have not brand-marked their cattle.

Some farmers have been issued with penalty fines.

“They are not marked … it is clear that if they are not marked, it makes it difficult to identify the cattle.”

Farmers in the area say they have seen some improvement with the safety measurements being put in place by police to address the escalating crime wave that is threatening their livelihoods and safety.

“We are happy as farmers because we can see that police have heard our concerns and there’s an operation that has been put in place … targeted hotspot areas will be monitored. We also encourage farmers to mark stock so when operation like these take place it’s much easier to identify stock. We urge the police to continue with these operation and not stop today, so that this crime can stop because we are tired,” add some of the farmers.

A strong message has been sent to criminals that the recovery of the cattle is just the starting point in the fight against stock theft.

This operation is part of a broader effort to tackle the growing concern of livestock theft in the province.