A 58-year-old farmer was found dead near Amersfoort in Mpumalanga. He may have died at the hands of individuals who were unlawfully hunting with dogs on his farm, according to Mpumalanga Agriculture.
“Illegal hunting with or without dogs is an offence in terms of the game theft act. Being on private property, without consent, is an offence in terms of the trespassing act,” says Robert Davel, general manager of Mpumalanga Agriculture.
“Farmers do not receive the necessary assistance from the SAPS to control offenders of these two acts. An innocent farmer, patrolling his farm on a Sunday morning was apparently killed by perpetrators of the mentioned acts.”
Mpumalanga Agriculture now calls on the police and Vusumuzi Shongwe, the MEC for community safety, security and liaison in the province, to “urgently put in place measures to stop this practice of trespassing and of illegal hunting with dogs [on farms].”
“This tragic incident confirms the seriousness of complaints in this regard and that such cases must be investigated by the SAPS with the necessary urgency,” the farmer’s organisation says.
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