A FAMILY from Finetown, south of Joburg is not happy with a neighbour who owns livestock in a residential area.
They said the animals and their waste stink and cause uncontrollable flies, especially after rain.
Sandisiwe Ntumbu (27) said the family had tried to talk to him to find a solution to keep the animals outside the yard, but he said his animals were being stolen.
"Our parents even offered him money to find a solution, but he was not interested. He refused and said the animals were being stolen and he’d rather keep them in his backyard," Sandisiwe said.
Tensions escalated in 2021 when the neighbour’s cow was sick and they asked him to take it to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
"Fortunately, when the SPCA officials got here, he was there, and they said they had to slaughter kill the cow on the spot because they couldn’t help it. I think he was offended. He then went to the local committee to complain and about 50 people came here with sticks and weapons demanding answers because he told them we were killing his animals,” she said.
Sandisiwe said the community demanded to see her parents.
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"Luckily our parents were not here, but when they came back they went to a meeting, but our neighbour didn’t attend and the case ended," she said.
She said she approached the Department of Environment a few weeks ago, which promised to follow up on the matter.
Sandisiwe said they spend a lot of money buying insecticides.
“I don’t even know how much we spend in a month, but we have it in every room, from the bedroom to the kitchen,” Sandisiwe said.
Sandisiwe’s brother, Yanga Ntumbu (26), said the other neighbours would benefit from it.
“The story I've heard is that people in our street are afraid of him and he has some leverage over them because they don’t work, so sometimes he gives them meat, and some have gardens which they plant with his fertiliser. In other words, he buys their silence,” he said.
Patriotic Alliance (PA) ward councillor Louis Simonse wondered how keeping such animals in residential areas was possible.
“I was not aware of the situation, but it’s amazing how someone can keep animals in such small stalls,” she said. She promised to call in the environmental and health authorities.
Daily Sun's attempts to contact the owner of the animals were unsuccessful.
