Times Of Swaziland: DOZENS OF CATTLE  DEAD AT LUBHUKU

DOZENS OF CATTLE  DEAD AT LUBHUKU
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BY KHULEKANI NENE on 12/10/2015 07:48:00


LUBHUKU – Scores of cattle have reportedly died at Lubhuku and surrounding
areas since July as a result of the severe drought that has hit the country.
Lubhuku is a rural community situated near Mpaka, which is under the authority
of Chief Ndlondlo Tsabedze.
According to livestock farmers in the area, the number of cattle that have died
could be more following reports that some cattle died in the forests and were
never discovered.
The situation, livestock farmers said, has been exacerbated by the extremely hot
whether conditions that were experienced in the country in the past two weeks.
“Just last week alone, about 10 cattle died here,” said a livestock farmer
from Lubhuku.
“The cows are weak because there is no grass and enough water so they cannot
withstand the extreme weather conditions,” he said.
This reporter was shown around the banks of Lubhuku dam where already decomposed
carcasses of cattle are mostly found.
Some residents were spotted near the dam carrying the meat of a cow that had
died the previous day.
“The cow died on its own and we are now taking the meat home,” Mpendulo
Siwela said.
Mpendulo was seen pushing two wheelbarrows full of meat with his sister, Sihle.
Two other children were also spotted carrying buckets full of meat from a cow
that had died near the dam.
Lubhuku livestock farmer Phillmah Mazibuko estimated that the total number of
cattle that had died so far could be more than 1 000.
Veterinary
A local veterinary officer who is said to have up-to-date statistics about all
the cattle that have died at Lubhuku was not found at his house and his mobile
phone also rang unanswered.
However, a senior veterinary official from the Lubombo region confirmed that the
number of dead cattle at Lubhuku could be over 1 000.
The official, however, referred this reporter to the Director of Veterinary
Services in the Ministry of Agriculture Dr Xolani Dlamini for an official
comment.