WARNING- GRAPHIC CONTENT: Mapleton piggery targeted again
The motive behind the attacks is still unknown.
Masande Padu, a piggery owner from Old Heidelberg Road in Mapleton, is devastated following another attack on his livestock—this time resulting in the death of 14 pigs.
Padu, who first spoke to the Boksburg Advertiser in January after over 30 of his pigs were stabbed, now claims that despite reporting a second attack to police on May 30, they only responded on June 2.
By then, another four pigs had been killed on May 31. It appears the pigs were stabbed with a knife and panga.
“I informed the Dawn Park SAPS, but no one came. Only days later did they show up, and they didn’t even speak to me directly. They told my worker that I must go to the station to open a case. What’s the point of reporting again when the first case wasn’t attended to properly?” he asked.
According to Padu, he later received an SMS informing him that the case had been closed without any further consultation or explanation. He said he no longer trusts the police station.
“It feels like the system fails us, and we are left to fend for ourselves. But if we take the law into our own hands, we get arrested. Where is our protection?” he questioned.
Padu’s emotional investment in his animals is clear. “I name all my pigs. They come when I call them. This has left me heartbroken, and I still don’t know who did it or why,” he said.
Apart from losing pigs due to the stabbing incidents, Padu said some of his pigs also died from an unknown disease. “Now I’m left with only 14 pigs, who are also sick.”
The Boksburg SPCA’s manager, Vicky Finnemore, confirmed that they had to humanely euthanise the injured animals in the latest attack and advised Padu to consider discontinuing pig farming.
The Boksburg Advertiser is still awaiting comment from Dawn Park SAPS.
In January, SAPS spokesperson Nkemeleng Mabula had stated that the matter was not closed and that a case of animal cruelty was being investigated.
Also Read: WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: Over 20 piglets stabbed at informal piggery in Mapleton
Also Read: SPCA confiscates 10 neglected pigs
