Farmers in R17m legal wrangle over sable antelope

PRETORIA: A sable antelope bull called Zulu – worth R17 million – was the subject of an urgent application before the high court in Pretoria, with the owner demanding his millions after the animal was sold on auction.

A company called Piet Warren Plase sold Zulu to Greenchem at an auction in September at Gravelotte in Limpopo, but apparently no pay was received.

Greenchem opposed the application and initially argued it gave another bull named Thometelo to Piet Warren Plase to sell on auction on its behalf.

However, Thometelo died in August before he could be sold. Greenchem said the bull was under the care of the applicant when he died.

It argued Piet Warren Plase should first pay compensation of Thometelo’s full value before getting payment for Zulu. No amount was mentioned in this regard.

Greenchem would then pay the difference between the prices for the two bulls.

Counsel for the respondent also said that the parties had agreed that the respondent would in any event only pay for him in a year, after they had negotiated regarding the value of the deceased bull.

Counsel for Greenchem conceded to Judge Winston Msimeki that the two debts could not in law be set off. This argument was then abandoned and the court left only with the contract of sale regarding Zulu.

In terms of the written contract regarding the auction, the respondent had to pay in full for the bull upon buying him at the auction. But the respondent said it had an oral agreement with Zulu’s owner that it was obliged to pay only in a year’s time.

The applicant denied this and said were this true, the auctioneer would have been made aware of this.

The judge said ownership of Zulu would pass to the respondent only once it had paid the purchase price in full. It was ordered that Zulu had to be delivered back to the applicant’s farm.