LIVESTOCK owners will be held accountable and charged for any accidents caused by stray animals that are left to wander on Limpopo’s public roads.
This was according to transport, safety and liaison MEC, Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana, who spoke at an event in Mukhomi village near Malamulele, where she handed over some 2 000 reflective collars for livestock as part of a campaign to improve the visibility of livestock, should they wander onto any public roads.
She said stray animals contributed to the road carnage in the province.
“From August 2013 to date, the province has experienced 268 accidents caused by stray animals. These accidents resulted in 10 deaths and left 349 people critically injured.”
“Most of the road fatalities that are caused by stray animals occur along the R37 between Mafefe and Burgersfort, the R71 between Polokwane and Boyne, the R81 between Giyani and Ga-Dikgale, the N11 between Mokopane and Marble Hall, and the R578 between Louis Trichardt and Malamulele,” she said urging livestock owners to control their livestock.
“Those who don’t take care of their livestock will be held accountable if their animals are found to have caused an accident,” she warned, saying each animal should be marked in order to help identify the owner in case it caused an accident on public road.
“Most of these stray animals are unbranded, making it difficult to trace their owners. We urge livestock owners to brand their livestock and make them visible with reflective collars,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, hosi Magona, Charles Nxumalo, the chairperson of traditional leaders in the Vhembe district, urged other traditional leaders to encourage livestock owners in their areas to build kraals and to ensure that no animals roamed the streets at night.
“As leaders we should have public gathering where all livestock owners, from cattle to donkeys, could learn how to keep their animals away from the public roads,” he said.
The cattle owners in Mukhomi were happy to receive the reflective collars for their livestock.
“We used to lose many livestock to road accidents. Sometimes it would happen that a truck hit a herd of cattle belonging to one person, causing great damage,” said Dickson Pambukwani one of the livestock owners of the village.
