Small stock theft hits Serowe
Pini Bothoko | Wednesday March 18, 2026 06:00
The police believe that a syndicate using vehicles is operating in the area and targeting farmers’ livestock, particularly during the night.
In most cases, the animals are stolen after they have been kraaled, whilst only a few incidents occur when the animals are out grazing.
Serowe Police Station commander, Poloko Oteng, told The Monitor, farmers often discover their goats missing in the morning, with vehicle tyre marks near the kraal suggesting the animals were loaded into a car.
He said the worrying trend is that thieves usually steal large numbers of animals at once.
Oteng said in one incident on Saturday, a farmer woke up to find 11 goats and two sheep missing, with tyre marks visible near the kraal.
“We strongly believe there is a syndicate targeting small stock in the area,” he said.
In another incident still in the outskirts of Serowe on the same day, a farmer was reportedly awakened around 3 am by goats running around inside the kraal. When he went to investigate, he found two men inside the kraal with a vehicle parked a short distance away.
“The duo managed to steal two goats before fleeing after the farmer screamed for help,” Oteng said.
He added that the suspects were allegedly driving a Toyota Hilux Surf, but the farmer could not clearly identify other features of the vehicle because it was dark.
Oteng appealed to farmers to strengthen security around their kraals, noting that small stock theft continues to cause serious losses for farmers in the area.
He said police currently record three to four cases of small stock theft every week in the Serowe policing area.