AFRICAN Farmers Association of South Africa (Afasa) has called on the Department of Justice and Correctional Services to impose harsh sentences on stock theft perpetrators.
Afasa is of the view that the agricultural sector in under attack and government has no plan or harsh legislation against the perpetrators.
“This is a serious threat to the food security of the country. There is a syndicate that includes law enforcement officials between Free State, KZN and Lesotho, where thousands of stolen sheep and cows are slaughtered and sold. So, we call on justice to impose heavy sentences,” said Mahadi Mopeli of Afasa.
On Friday, 30 December, eight people were arrested between Reitz and Petrus Steyn for alleged stock theft after cops found them in possession of 88 stolen sheep. Forty- eight were already slaughtered.
Police also found suspects with bloody clothes which led them to the recovery of the sheep.
It was established from a local farmer that indeed the sheep were his.
The eight suspects, aged between 27 and 46, have been charged and will appear in the Reitz Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 10 January.
In another incident, a 43-year-old man was arrested with eight goat carcasses and two sheep carcasses on a farm outside Virginia on Friday. He could not provide police with the necessary documents to be in possession of the carcasses.
Farm owner Johan van Wyk said some butcheries andshisa nyamassell stolen meat.
“They opt for cheap market, which is the illegal one. Police must start to investigate butcheries first. The real culprits are the ones who are buying stolen meat. If government does not introduce heavy laws, the country will have a shortage of red meat and that will automatically cripple the economy.
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“We have tried everything to minimise the rate of stock theft but nothing has changed,” said Van Wyk.
Tabling his budget speech last year, Free State Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Thembeni Nxangisa said more than 400 cases of stock theft were still in the hands of the justice system.
