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Loide Jason Ongwediva-Some residents of Epyeshona in Okatana constituency in Oshana region have accused the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of having stolen and killed their cow. Residents who spoke to New Era on condition of anonymity claimed they had been searching for their cow for more than two weeks, only to learn that the cow was impounded by the SPCA because of its ‘abandonment’. However, the residents claimed they knew about the whereabouts of their cow since the day it gave birth to its fifth calf. “We felt that due to the dryness of the area, we couldn’t stray our cow every day from the grazing area to the kraal, and to the grazing area from the kraal. Since the cow calved during the dry period, we wanted to give it time for recovery. We have been monitoring her situation since day one. Therefore, we are very disturbed by the fact that, the organisation transported it to its kraal,” said a furious cattle owner who refused to be named Residents said the organisation is supposed to consult people before they load their animals and advertise them on social networks (Facebook) because not everyone is technologically literate. “How can one just come and load up a cow from a grazing area and claim to protect the animal after keeping it in a condoned area that has insufficient food? That is disheartening because I have now lost two animals this way. Cattle are one of the resources I and my family survive from and it hurts to lose it just like that,” said the owner. The cow owner said that when approached the manager of the northern regional SPCA, Wilmarie Horn, insisted they either pay about N$1,900 for medication she bought to treat the cow or she would give away the animal. This, the cow owner said, is criminality as animals are roaming around grazing areas looking for green grass since some parts of the country did not receive enough rainfall. Local farmers are now demanding their cattle from the organisation. When New Era visited the SPCA in Ongwediva the office was closed but Horn confirmed a criminal case of animal abandonment, animal neglect and animal cruelty had been opened. The case was filed against the owners at Oshakati, CR 54/02/2018. Horn said the cow had been lying on the road the whole week, in the sun without water or shade. “I could see the cow needed immediate medical attention, food, water and shade. She was extremely thin and breathing rapidly. There was something wrong with her right eye, it looked like an untreated infection as the white part was bulging a bit and red,” read the sworn statement of Horn. She admitted that she asked the owners of the cow to pay N$1,800 because she had bought food and medication for the animal.
New Era Reporter
2018-02-20 09:15:36 11 months ago
