THREE days after his 13 cows died, allegedly after being poisoned, the carcasses are still lying in the farmer’s kraal.
Bonginkosi Nene (40) from Ifafa at Ixopo, KZN was allegedly instructed not to dispose of the remains as the poison could spill into the local rivers.
The instruction was allegedly given by disaster management officials from Ubuhlebezwe Municipality, who visited Nene’s home on Sunday after the incident on Saturday.
Nene said he noticed his cattle were bothered by ticks and other external parasites.
He said he sprayed the animals with a mixture of antiparasite medicine he bought from the local pharmacy a year ago. But minutes later they all collapsed and died.
Nene said he didn’t know if he had exceeded the permitted dose or if the medicine had expired.
“Now my kraal will be empty. Over the past years I haven’t had any money problems because I could just sell a few cows to buy anything my family wanted.”
Councillor Mfukuleni Ndlovu said: “The municipality will provide a tractor to dig deep holes far from the river to bury the carcasses.”
Zwakele Mngonyama, Ubuhlebezwe municipal spokesman, said the matter will be discussed at a meeting today.
