HIGHVELD – A farmer searching for a stolen stud bull, recently stumbled upon stock thieves’ slaughter site.
He initially reported one of his stud bulls as stolen.
The farmer and his foreman followed tracks to a old farm with a dilapidated house between Bethal and Kriel on 3 July and alerted the police.
Most of the house had been demolished with a few walls still remaining.
Inside, the team found skeletons and decomposing remains of cows and bulls.
It is believed that the criminals used this site for the slaughtering of the stolen cattle.
According to Mr Hennie Bekker, District Coordinator Lowveld District AfriForum, the cattle were herded into the walled up area and cruel, inhuman methods were used to prevent the animals from escaping.
“The tendon above the animal’s hock in the hind legs or its hooves are usually hacked off. Stock thieves do this so that the cattle cannot run away.
“The animals are then slaughter, depending on the demand the meat,” said Mr Bekker.
Mr Bekker said in some cases the demand for meat may not be high and these cows are then left to die without any meat being taken from them.
The matter is an ongoing investigation.
