Picture: The cattle allegedly poisoned by a known perpetrator
By OBAKENG MAJE
A devastated farmer, Ockert Goosen in Bray accused the police of doing nothing to arrest the alleged perpetrator, who poisoned his cattle. Goosen (25) told Farmer’s Weekly magazine that, first, eight of his calves were stolen and now 33 cows and 11 calves have been poisoned.
“I can’t explain how it feels and it’s not a pretty sight. It’s more than R900 000 in immediate damage. This is without considering that, most of the cows were pregnant and there’s the future loss of income.
“I started farming with Bonsmaras and Bonsmara crosses near Tosca two-and-a-half years ago. I also rent cattle land near Bray in the Kgalagadi district in North West. I have filed a case with the police and pressed them to investigate,” he said.
Goosen further said, that his father, Ockie, called the person they suspect is in control of the syndicate and asked him to stop stealing their cattle. He added that they know the police won’t do anything about it, but they will not leave it there.
“He then told my father that it wasn’t him and heard that we were going to file a case with the police. Now, we’ll see how serious he can really be, he’s going to wipe out all our cattle.
“After that, the man allegedly regularly called my father with threats and sent a WhatsApp message saying: “Don’t start a war you can’t finish,” said Goosen.
He alleged that, two weeks ago at around 9pm, Jacques du Toit called him and said, security cameras showed the man on his way towards the land Goosen rents near Bray.
Goosen and his friend, Wesley Sevenster, who also farms in the area, allegedly drove to the area and went through all 12 of his cattle posts but noticed nothing suspicious.
“At around 1am on Sunday, while I was still in the area, I received another call that, the suspect’s bakkie was in the area. The bakkie then drove past Sevenster and I. We chased him until about 4am.
“At times, we lost contact with him but then noticed him again. He then went into an informal settlement and we waited for him in the road in case he drove in our direction again,” he said.
Goosen said at about 9am on Sunday, one of his workers called him and said he had to come because the cattle were dying and they didn’t know what to do.
“We then saw that there was poison in the trough, where they drink water. We tried to save those we could by giving them activated charcoal.
“The police officer who came to take our statement told me he was going to open a case and send it to court, but he couldn’t promise me anything would happen,” said Goosen.
He said with all the bad, he is overwhelmed by the large number of people who have opened their hearts and hands to them and even want to donate cattle to help him get started again. Goosen said the case has since been transferred from Bray Police Station to Vryburg.
Meanwhile, the North West police spokesperson, Bri Sabata Mokgwabone said: “We have established an investigation team to investigate a case of malicious damage to property after approximately 44 cattle were poisoned.
“The incident took place between Saturday, 25 and Sunday, 26 November 2023 on a farm in Bray. As part of the investigation following the registration of the case, the police attended the scene on 26 November 2023 and took samples for forensic analysis.”
He said the police would also look into all allegations, including the apparent existence of a stock theft syndicate in the area. Mokgwabone said the police request anyone with information that can assist in the investigation to contact Colonel Dawie de Lange on 082 372 4528 or call the South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Stop number: 08600 10111.
The Guardian 