Stock-theft costing billions
Farmers carry financial burden as livestock slaughtered in droves
Stock-theft, worth R3bn in 2018, is one of SA’s fastest growing “industries”, with the former Ciskei and Transkei the worst hit areas.
It is out of control, growing more violent and shows no signs of abating, said Willie Clack, head of Stock Theft Protection Forum (STPF).
“Recent STPF research revealed 77% of thefts are not reported. Large syndicates now operate with relative impunity. They steal up to 70 live sheep at a time and sell to butcheries and abattoirs. We have valued average replacement costs of an animal at R2,000 for a sheep, R2,400 for a goat and R22,000 per unit for cattle.”
Cattle are normally slaughtered on site, said Nguni farmer Pat Hobbs, who operates in the Chintsa area. Hobbs is a past president of the Nguni Cattle Breeders Association (SA).
“I have farmed in many areas, but from my experience the worst theft area is Kidds Beach, right on East London’s doorstep. Thieves come in at night, hamstring the cattle indiscriminately, slaughter what they can, then escape. Many animals that manage to drag themselves away, with one or both back legs immobilised, have to be put down. Recently a farmer in the Cathcart area, next to the N6, discovered the remains of 11 cows right next to the road, a loss of over R100,000.”
Hobbs said the meat was most likely sold directly to buyers or went into butcheries.
Sheep farming in proximity to towns or villages was no longer possible, said Clack, due to theft. There is no cost-effective method of countering syndicates, and insurance will not cover theft.
“Some farmers have tried to run donkeys with sheep, that only counters caracal and jackal,” said Hobbs. “Others have motion collars on a few animals in the herd, and if thieves disturb the sheep, farmers are alerted via a cellphone. They can rush out to the field, but will probably be faced by a dozen or so professional thieves, mostly armed. Sheep are livelihoods but not worth farmers’ lives.”
In one night the animals are often transported huge distances, said Clack. “Gauteng is now the sales capital for rustlers. It is a lucrative business. A night’s work in Kroonstad, which we discovered recently, revealed the hides of over 20 goats left in a field, costing the farmer nearly R50,000.
“We get reports of large hits in Eastern Cape, and on investigation find the beasts on auction in Gauteng the next morning. We work closely with the police and are having successes. Last week we arrested 11 people, eight from one gang, three from another. But it is an uphill battle. Some of the thefts are organised crime at a sophisticated level.”
Cathcart once had one of the Eastern Cape’s highest sheep populations, said Chris Sheard, a director of Sheard Auctioneers. “In 1930 the town set a world record with 130,000 sheep on auction on one day.”
Paul Thompson, a director of GlenRoy Abattoir in Komga, said that the village once had sheep farms carrying a total of up to 80,000.
“There are no sheep in Komga, they are gone, and with them the jobs. Cattle theft is on the up.
“A local farmer recently had several stud bulls stolen. That is big money, up to R50,000 per beast.”
Clack said: “Stock-theft is an old business. In Exodus 22 the bible refers to stealing an ox or a sheep, and the penalties. We need concerted action to control it, but we will not wipe it out. The losses, R3bn a year, are making stock farming too risky to warrant investment.”
There are no sheep in Komga, they are gone, and with them the jobs. Cattle theft is on the up