DVS destroys 27 cattle stolen by Zim rustlers
Pini Bothoko | Wednesday November 18, 2015 15:30
The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) policy is that any cattle from Botswana that cross into Zimbabwe cannot be allowed to cross back into Botswana, due to the rampant FMD in the neighbouring country. The cattle, rather, are destroyed and farmers compensated.
In an incident that has left seven farmers reeling in shock, rustlers herded the cattle across the border, but acting on a tip-off, farmers were able to track them and retrieve the beasts.
Nlapkhwane councillor, Paulos Nkoni, told a full council meeting here on Monday that the farmers were not allowed to herd their beasts back into Botswana and where instead forced to watch their cattle destroyed before their eyes, with only P400 compensation per animal.
“Farmers are emotionally traumatised after witnessing their cattle being shot to death by the DVS near the border on Sunday and they are only going to be given P400 as compensation,” Nkoni told his fellow councillors.
“This is very sad because it is not like the cattle crossed the border due to the owners’ carelessness. They were stolen.”
He said compensating farmers with P400 would have been adequate if the matter involved the farmers’ negligence. “This is a different case because the cattle were stolen and they thus deserve better compensation,” Nkoni said. “After witnessing the killing of their cattle, farmers also need counselling. The council should therefore intervene and help them.
“Seven farmers have been affected and council needs to intervene in making sure that the victims are assisted accordingly.” According to Nkoni, the 27 cattle were not tested for FMD before their slaughter, which worsened the impact on the farmers. Quizzed about the matter on the sidelines of the ongoing council session, NED Agricultural coordinator, Nkaigwa Joel, explained that while he was unaware of the matter, the local authority should have been informed before the slaughter.
“I have not yet received the report on this matter but I should have been informed about it by the DVS because the matter affects both of us. I really don’t know why they decided to slaughter the cattle without notifying us,” said Joel.
Joel said the P400 was standard compensation “despite the reasons that resulted in the cattle crossing the border”. Councillors again raised concerns about cross-border crime, stating that villagers along the Zimbabwean border have sleepless nights due to illegal immigrants who cross at ungazetted points to steal and cross back into Zimbabwe.
Ramokgwebana village councillor, Alfred Makgetho, said even though the issue has long been raised and the police are well aware of it, there was no hope that the situation would improve in the future. “People have lost some of their valuables especially electronics and livestock due to cross-border crime. Council needs to intervene in the matter and come up with ways of addressing the escalating cross-border crime,” he said.