Sussex bull butchered in savage attack

BARELY a week after a butchery owner was caught with the hacked remains of stolen cattle in his possession, another bull has been inhumanely massacred on a farm approximately 22km from Vryheid.

The savage slaughter of the Sussex bull, belonging to Vern Schefferman, took place on December 1. It is believed that the culprits initially attempted to go after one of the cows, but were unsuccessful in their attempt as the cow ran away. Bulls, however, are less inclined to run away and more likely to stand their ground when confronted.

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The modus operandi of these callous cattle thieves is to sever the tendons in the legs of the animal, rendering them immobile. They are then able to carry out the inhumane slaughter, in all likelihood while the animal is still alive.

Schefferman was alerted of the situation on Saturday morning after a massive storm on Friday night prompted him to send out his staff to inspect the condition of the cattle in case of lightning damage shortly after 5am. It was then that they made the gruesome discovery. From the site where the bull was massacred, a trail was discovered, leading to the fence where the stolen meat was evidently pulled through and then to a site at the roadside where the barbaric butchers are likely to have waited for their getaway vehicle.

“Of course this is a big loss for us,” states Schefferman, in reference to the Sussex bull that was lost in this heinous crime, which has an estimated replacement value of approximately R40 000 to R50 000. “However, what gets to me the most is the way that it was slaughtered. It’s just savagery,” he adds. “We work with these animals every day and, yes, our pigs and cattle are reared for slaughter, but it’s done humanely and professionally. The way they massacred this bull was absolutely inhumane and, I imagine that, in all likelihood, he was still alive while they were butchering his carcass…”

Schefferman also described the way that the carcass was cut as seemingly professional and stated that it was his opinion that the slaughter of the bull and the way it was cut appeared to be more likely for resale than for the pot.