Mahikeng residents woke up to find two buffalos in their kasi on Wednesday.
The buffalos were spotted at Unibo Chapel, a building next to the North West University where hundreds of students pass by on their way to school.
The two animals roamed the Unibo chapel yard as if they were at the game reserve and also looked too excited to see people around them.
But officials killed the animals ”as they posed danger to members of the community”.
Officials also suspected that they might have diseases such as foot and mouth.
Jonathan Denga, Director of Biodiversity management at the department of Economic development, environment and conservation, said they had to quickly kill them as they were posing a threat to people.
He said live ammunition was used as the Buffalos were just too excited and could not be controlled. Denga said they used experienced professional hunters that they had in the province.
They were able to discharge the duty quickly and swiftly.“We wish we could have considered other methods but you must remember the animals we are dealing with here are buffalos.
“We have got hundreds of people around the vicinity. They posed danger to society but also veterinary risk that is attached that we had to control and that’s why we had to take that decision,” he said.
The director at Nare veterinary services Langa Madyibi said finding the animals there forced them to cull them. He said the area in which those buffalos were found was not registered to keep Buffalos.
He said the buffalos were not micro chipped making it difficult to know who the owner was. “There are diseases like foot and mouth that is why they must be kept in an area that suits them,” he said.
Madyibi said they could not sedate them as they were wild. “Sedating them was going to take a long time so the killing was justified as they could have spread diseases,” he said.
Denga said buffalo keeping was strictly regulated by the law and that investigations were underway.
“Our environmental management inspectors are working together with the police and declared the area a crime scene. We need to find out exactly where the buffalos are coming from. There are possibility of illegal transportation,” he said.
Residents said they were sad that the animals were killed.
They were also disappointed that they were not given the meat.
“It makes nice biltong. Let them take the horns and give the meat to us,” said Lerato Malosela while taking pictures of the dead buffalos.
