Carcasses of cattle litter grazing lands
LUBULI – A stench from carcasses and bones litter grazing lands, where over 70 cattle are said to have been killed by drought.
Ntuthwakazi Bucopho Bonginkosi Mabaso said the livestock started dying in October last year, when they least expected to be affected by El Niño.
He said the signs started showing when rains became scarce, while rivers and dams dried up.
Mabaso said later on, they started receiving reports from farmers about dying livestock.
He was supported by Bucopho of Mngometulu Umphakatsi Andreas Mamba, who said insufficient drinking water was the main cause for the livestock to die.
Mamba said as a result, the livestock was forced to walk longer distances, while searching for water.
According to him, they used to get water from Ngwavuma River, but when it dried up, they were forced to walk a long distance to the Usuthu River.
“Some of the livestock die, while on its way to the river. They die in numbers and when they do, we only remove the ear tags and take them to the veterinary officers,” he said.
Of the 70 cattle that died, 49 belonged to Mahlatsini Matsenjwa, a noteworthy cattle farmer.
He said his livestock started dying in October 2023, while most recent incident was early this week.
He further stated that he was still trying to ascertain the actual number of his livestock that had died, as some were still missing.
Such a situation has subjected his family to poverty, as the head of the family said he had been struggling to put food on the table.
Matsenjwa said his family had not eaten anything in the past few days.
“We do not have food,” he lamented.
He said the most painful part was that young bull calves and pregnant heifers had died.
On the worth of each cow, Matsenjwa said the cheapest cost around E11 000. This means that the Matsenjwa family had so far made a loss of about E539 000 due to the drought.