Fresh cattle heads, legs and skins are again being dumped in the city – and near the Crocodile River too.
Mr Jaco Klopper from the Mpumalanga Animal & Environmental Crime Watch (MACW) says a large part of his job is looking for traps set to catch animals for bush meat. Dogs often get caught in them and he aims to set them free.
In the course of his job, he frequents the city’s bush, away from where pedestrians walk, and often comes across dumped animal rests.
He recently discovered a number of fresh cattle heads, legs and skins near the Crocodile River on the R2296 behind Valencia Park. He says it was clear that these had been added to older carcasses, which were also wrapped in plastic.
Klopper is concerned about the potential impact on the environment, especially if the number of carcasses increases.
“The municipality must make a plan, otherwise there will just be more tomorrow.”
Mr Piet Kruger, technical director at Waste Resolution Technologies, said it was illegal to dump the carcasses there.
According to him, the most concerning risk was to people who might be hungry enough to eat it, as it would make them sick.
He estimated that should it run into the water, it would not be ideal as the bacteria in the heads could be harmful, but it would be consumed by something in the water.
“The impact on the environment would be less than that on people and animals eating it, especially if it is diseased.”
Kruger suspects that the dumping is the work of small traders who resell the parts for food in townships.
“It was most likely someone who tried to get rid of rotten meat. The fact that there are skins show it cannot be abattoirs dumping it, as they get too much money selling them.”
In addition, all abattoirs in the area have excellent controls and the equipment to incinerate carcasses. “It would be too much work for them to drive there to get rid of it,” Kruger concluded.
A more visible problem is the dumping of building rubble and trash on the city’s sidewalks and even in wetlands, on which Nelspruit Post has been reporting for weeks.
The newspaper recently reported on a pile of rubble outside the showgrounds, consisting of old clothes, plastic and other garbage.
Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM) said illegal dumping of any kind of waste was strictly prohibited and was punishable.
Municipality spokesman Mr Joseph Ngala said it was a major challenge for them and law enforcement to monitor people’s dumping.
“Illegal dumping is very difficult to manage, as it happens when municipal officials are not around and it happens wherever people find a site,” he said.
Residents are supposed to dispose of their trash at Mbombela’s central waste-disposal site in Tekwane West.
Ngala did not respond to the newspaper’s questions about the dumping of animal rests.
- Read more about recent illegal dumping issues in Mbombela:
Growing litter trend is a worrisome issue
Illegal dumping is not giving everyone grey hairs
