The Mangwe Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nketa Mangoye Dlamini said that the local authority from time to time auctions stray animals, but has taken steps to guard against selling people’s cattle. “When animals stray into an area or reported found by any members of the community, the local village head is informed. Basically village heads keep information on who in their households are keeping lost and found cattle,” he said.
Mangoye Dlamini said the auctions were meant to curb the frequency of stray animals and the funds were used for the district’s maintenance projects. He said the local authority disposes of stray cattle after extensive efforts are made to locate or find the owners. The CEO whoever finds stray animals should report it to their traditional leaders and police. “This is all done to reduce incidences of stock theft and avoid the illegal movement of cattle. The basic principle of auctioning strays livestock is the selling of lost and found property through public sales,” he said.
Dlamini said the RDC had been conducting the auction for years. The local authority meticulously verifies that it does not sell or facilitate transactions of stolen cattle. “People are encouraged to have their brands registered with the brands registry and the RDC encourages people to report missing beasts to the police together with their brands so that verification is done well before the sales are conducted,” he said.
Post published in: News