Gogo’s goats shot dead by farmer
The owner alleged that her goatherd had seen the animals on the other side of the road where the Macadamia farm was and suddenly heard gunshots.
MBONISWENI – A 61-year-old pensioner, Ms Salitha Ngomane of Mbonisweni Trust, could not believe her eyes when she found six of her female goats dead after they had been shot by a local farmer.
The animals strayed onto the farmer’s property at Spioenkop.
The incident happened on September 7 at 15:00.
She alleged that her goatherd had seen the animals on the other side of the road where the Macadamia farm was and suddenly heard gunshots.
“That was when the goatherd came back to report what had happened. We then drove out to look for the animals and met the farmer. He told us that he had killed six goats and the rest ran away. He was still carrying his gun and told us that we cannot come into his yard to take the goats, we must come the following day,” she said.
Ngomane, accompanied by his family members and police from White River went to the farmer’s house the following morning. The dead goats were found in a old building.
“I cannot even eat, I’m stressed. Why did he kill my animals like that? He should have called me if they had trespassed onto his farm. Some of them were pregnant and some left their newly born kids.
I cannot understand why he did this. I want the police to investigate and do their work on this case,” said Ngomane a day after the incident.
Ngomane owns a flock of 35 goats and a herd of 16 cattle. She says her animals were all healthy despite the persistent drought in the province.
WO Gugu Phiri from White River Police Station confirmed that they had opened a case of cruelty to animals.
“No arrests have been made so far and the matter is still under investigation,” she said.
