STILL NO ANIMAL POUND FOR LOCAL MUNICIPALITY
MIDDELBURG — Despite an undertaking to do so by May 2017, Inxuba Yethemba Municipality has still not built animal pounds in Middelburg and the pound in Cradock has no administrative support.
The current uncontrolled influx of animals into residential areas and commonages has resulted in significant animal diseases transmission risks to neighbouring commercial farms. Furthermore, the risks posed by stray animals to motorists and private property owners have been on the rise.
The issue of stray animals on Cradock and Middelburg’s public roads and in private properties is an ever-increasing problem and residents are spending their hardearned money to erect palisades to prevent animals from entering their properties.
Several motor vehicle accidents have also occurred in and around these towns due to stray cattle on the road.
The National Road Traffic Act Regulation 313 (1) “makes it an offence to allow animals to be unattended on a public road” and (5) “makes it an offence to allow animals to constitute a danger to traffic”.
According to Middelburg councillor, Handri Vorster, “Inxuba Yethemba Municipality’s by-laws are outdated and cannot be enforced, which has resulted in them becoming null and void and requests from the Democratic Alliance to review the by-laws have also fallen on deaf ears”. Civic organisations have raised this issue through writing letters to Inxuba Yethemba Municipality and voicing their concerns in public meetings.
The DA has also written letters to Inxuba Yethemba Municipality, raised motions in Council, issued media statements and handed over petitions to the Municipal Manager – none of which spurred the municipality on to prioritise the full functionality of both compounds. “The Democratic Alliance urges Inxuba Yethemba Municipality once again to speed up the process of opening and maintaining the pounds, along with their administrative support. We also strongly urge the municipality to review and update our municipal by-laws as a matter of urgency to ensure efficient governing of the municipality,” said Vorster.