Police have been urged to consider a case of animal cruelty in their investigation into the shooting of 11 cows by a farmer in the Uitenhage area.
Eight of the cows were killed while three others were found limping around the streets of Kwanobuhle in Uitenhage with bullet wounds.
Nelson Mandela Bay’s mayoral committee member, Nqaba Bhanga, met the livestock owners on Thursday.
He said “given the suffocating drought conditions currently facing our Metro, urban livestock are often forced to escape their enclosures in desperate search of food.”
“The mere sight of cattle can never warrant the lethal use of a deadly firearm, stripping these livestock owners of livelihood. These implications are far-reaching and truly devastating,” he said.
“I urge the South African Police Service to swiftly conclude their investigation into this horrible incident. Particular attention should be paid to the possibility of this having been an act of animal cruelty, malicious damage to property or plain intolerance of fellow residents’ right to own cattle as a source of wealth,” councilor Bhanga said.
