Farmers take action against livestock theft

Theft of livestock is leaving many farmers out of pocket. Annelie Coleman writes about SAPS and local farmers' initiatives.

- Annelie Coleman

Livestock theft in the Free State is allegedly so out of control that farmers have been left with no choice but to establish their own private livestock theft investigation initiative, Free State Agriculture (FSA) recently announced during a media conference. The organisation made R1 million available for the establishment of such an initiative. According to Francois Wilken, FSA president, Free State livestock producers suffered heavy financial losses every year as a result of organised livestock theft. The situation was exacerbated by the limited ability and capacity of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to combat crime in the province.

“The fact that the SAPS Livestock Theft Units suffer from of a lack of manpower, vehicles and equipment is a major concern,” Wilken said. “The damage caused by the criminals amounts to millions of rands every year.”

PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS

Dr Jane Buys, FSA safety risk analyst, said that the initiative would see private investigations by trained specialists conducted in partnership with FSA’s Rural Safety committee, and the LVG private security company.

“The first phase of this project was launched in the Fezile Dabi district on 1 July 2023, and all investigations will take place in collaboration with the police under the auspices of the Rural Safety Strategy,” Buys said.