Drastic action from a farmer in the area this week ensured that he eventually got the help he needed from the police.

According to Dawie Pienaar, who farms next to the N12 between Fochville and Wedela, his problems started about a year ago when informal cattle herders started to chase their herds of cattle, sometimes hundreds of animals, onto his farm. The herders cut the fence separating his farm and the back of Wedela to be able to chase the animals onto his land.

Pienaar sometimes spent thousands of rands a day to repair this electric fence, only for it to be cut again the next evening.

To make matters worse, the herders also let their dogs onto his farm, and they chased and killed the game with which he farmed.

Although Pienaar tried to let the owners of the cattle know about the huge damage they caused him, the situation did not improve.

The problems increased when some of the cattle started to wander onto the N12 and caused accidents.
Pienaar also tried in vain to get help from the police in Wedela, in whose policing precinct his farm is situated, as well as the police in Fochville and Carletonville. He even sent an email to the Acting West Rand Police Commissioner, Brigadier Happy Xaba, but did not get any help.

Because of this, Pienaar decided to make his own plan on September 23.

This morning, he gathered the about 40 cattle that had been chased onto his farm the previous night and chased them to his farm gate.

“We waited for about an hour, but no herders appeared, which again gave me the idea that these cattle were stolen,” he says.

Pienaar, some employees and his son-in-law, Fernanduz du Plessis, then chased the about 40 cattle over the N12 towards Fochville.

He decided to chase the cattle to the Fochville police station instead of the Wedela police station as it posed much less of a danger to motorists on the N12.

To ensure that the cattle did not damage vehicles parked at the Fochville police station, Pienaar’s employees chased the animals into the open veld next to Du Preez Street.

Pienaar and Du Preez then went to the Fochville police station to report the issue.

Luckily, some police officers got into action, and an officer of the SAPS Stock Theft Unit in Vereeniging called him back soon afterwards. The Stock Theft Unit also promised to assist him with the problems in future.

“Why was it necessary for me to do so much just to get help?” Pienaar wondered.