Stray livestock danger on roads
Motorists fear for their lives as animals roam free in Bay
ANIMALS in search of green pastures are causing chaos on Nelson Mandela Bay roads, with accidents and traffic jams reported daily. And, despite impounding 473 animals this year and issuing fines totalling close to R100 000, the municipality is losing the battle to control the scourge.
The latest figures were supplied by municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki.
One fed-up resident has even called for a “town ranger” to be appointed to shoot menacing cows on sight.
Over the past few weeks, towtruck drivers spotted large herds of cattle blocking traffic on La Roche Drive and Strandfontein Road in Port Elizabeth, in Despatch, and on Addo Road in Markman Township.
Last weekend, there were two accidents involving vehicles in collisions with cattle. In the most recent, a bakkie hit a cow in Greenbushes on Sunday night.
Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Mlibo Qoboshiya- ne yesterday urged livestock owners to prevent their animals from “loitering next to and straying into the roads because this leads to dangerous and fatal accidents”.
“Dogs, horses, goats, sheep, pigs and cattle are the most livestock loitering and straying into the province’s roads,” he said.
“No livestock are orphans. Each animal has an owner and it is that owner who must make sure that no livestock graze or stray next to and into the roads.”
Ambulance and tow-truck drivers said they received daily reports of stray cattle.
Precision Towing driver Phillip Wolfsburg said the company attended accidents involving stray animals about twice a week.
“One week we had two accidents at night and three during the day, all caused by cows,” he said.
Frequent sightings are reported in Sherwood, Deal Party, Uitenha- ge, Walmer, Greenbushes and outside the city’s international airport.
Wolfsburg said the most dangerous roads were the Rocklands Road, Addo Road, Old Cape Road, the N2 near Kempston Road, and the R75 between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage.
Victoria Drive, St Albans Prison and Stanford Road are also danger spots.
Paramedic Wesley Bester said he frequently saw accidents caused by stray animals.
Environmental consultant Sherry Moorhouse, who has been fighting a losing battle against cattle herders using the Baywest Mall construction site, said she was convinced the municipal department meant to deal with the issue existed in name only.
“We have struggled with a herd of 70 cattle for the past two years.
“The owner of this herd lives in an informal settlement at the back of Sherwood.”
Moorhouse said that while the telephone number widely publicised by the municipality to report stray animals might be answered, the service was non-existent.
“I am convinced that the entire department is nothing but the per-
son answering the phone. “If they [officials] do exist, they are not bothering to do their work.”
Municipal public health department acting executive director Joram Mkosana said the department was doing all it could.
A long-term solution needed to be found to secure grazing because, according to the by-laws, cows could only be impounded if they were roaming freely without a herder. “If a cow causes an accident or gets injured, there is no separate fine.
“Owners and those injured are advised to go the legal route.”
DA councillor Margaret De Andrade said a nature reserve in Sherwood was all but destroyed by 50 cattle earlier this year.
Despite several calls, nobody went out to fetch the animals.
Some Port Elizabeth householders have had to chase cattle away from grazing in their gardens.
Cleary Estate resident Gwen Fraser, 60, said she got a fright when she opened her front door to see three cows eating one of her trees.
In Kirkwood, Jennifer Honsbein, 54, who uses the R75 between Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth, said: “Stray cattle grazing along the road are constantly causing horrific accidents. Why does the munici- pality not impound these animals?”
Hayley Thomas, of Greenbushes, said she almost hit a cow on Old Cape Road a week ago.
Aldene Zacharias, 51, of Bethelsdorp, said stray cattle were a problem on Stanford Road.
“Animals are also in the parks where kids are supposed to play,” she said.
Ryno Barendse, 25, of Bethelsdorp, said he and a friend were driving after dark on Victoria Drive a few months ago when they hit a cow. “A herd ran into the road and we hit a cow and her calf. The car was a write-off.”
Mike Muller, of Uitenhage, said his son had a near-fatal collision with a cow in Verwoerd Drive.
He said a workable measure would be to appoint a town ranger to shoot stray cattle and distribute the meat to the poor and homeless.
Animal owner Siyabonga Lithula, 21, of KwaMagxaki, said he had been ordered by the municipality to stop his cattle from feeding next to the road.
“But that is where the grass is and we can't take them to fields as they are dry,” he said.
The Eastern Cape Health Department said statistics on such accidents were the work of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC). The TMC did not respond to requests for comment. – Additional reporting by Yonela Mgwali