Free State farmers’ patrols help cut stock theft by 16%
The Free State province has recorded a 16% drop in stock theft cases,
Image: SAPS
The Free State province has recorded a 16% drop in stock theft cases, thanks to local anti-stock theft patrollers and support from the police and military.
This comes after farmers in affected areas, such as Ficksburg and QwaQwa, organised regular patrols, collaborating with the South African Police Service and SANDF to monitor border areas where livestock theft is common.
The figures were revealed by MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport, Jabu Mbalula, during the tabling of the departmental budget at the Free State Provincial Legislature.
Mbalula also expressed satisfaction with the progress, citing it as a positive sign of improved rural safety efforts.
“Encouragingly, stock theft has declined due to rural safety initiatives, showing progress in community protection efforts,” Mbalula said.
Lebohang Mahlae from Ficksburg, who lost 45 sheep to theft in 2015, said he joined other farmers in forming patrol groups to help prevent further livestock losses.
“We do this every day. I suffered a great loss with the theft of my sheep because that was an incredibly large number of sheep. We do not have a choice because thieves are on the prowl. Our livestock is stolen and taken to Lesotho, so we are always on patrol,” Mahlae said.
He said they are willing to go to extremes to protect their livestock against what he called "determined criminals".
“My neighbour lost nearly 185 sheep and 17 cows, so that was an indication that the criminals were determined, but that was also a wake-up call for us to intensify our efforts.
"We have therefore organised ourselves and patrol the border with the help of the South African National Defence Force and the police and I think that has helped us a lot. We request a donation of a bakkie to make it easy for us because we travel long distances,” he added.
Mbalula added that the department will strengthen efforts to combat cross-border crime, particularly stock theft, by increasing visibility, allocating more resources, and working closely with community patrol groups.
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