“This is a long-standing problem and nothing is being done about it. Residents, the owners and even the Overstrand municipality are turning a blind eye and the situation is now getting out of hand.”
These were the words of a concerned resident about the conditions of the informal piggery at Besemhoutkloof Farm in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley.
On 5 July the Mayor of the Overstrand, Dr Annelie Rabie, the Municipal Manager and law enforcement (LE) as well as the stock theft unit of the police met with the relevant small farmers following a number of complaints from surrounding farmers about the pigs on the municipal farm.
According to a press release from the municipality, dated 7 July 2023, it was agreed that the pigs be relocated to another suitable area, possibly Karwyderskraal.
Rabie appointed Cllr Steven Fourie to lead a team that will work on the identification of alternative land, oversee the signing of a lease agreement and the relocation of the pigs.
“Until the relocation is finalised, law enforcement will ensure that any pigs not kept in a pen are confiscated,” the press release said. “They will work closely with the small farmers to ensure the safety of the animals as well as motorists on the R320, where a number of free-roaming pigs have been spotted lately.”
The concerned reader said the matter had also been addressed in 2018 thanks to the joint efforts of law enforcement, volunteers, Hermanus Animal Welfare Society, vets, farmers and the NSPCA.
“I was part of a group of animal-welfare role-players who were alerted to the piggery being abandoned over Christmas 2018, when the 17 farmers there went home to KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, leaving their pigs in the care of a couple of local guys who didn’t do their job,” the resident said.
“A sanctuary sponsored two men working there over four weeks to feed and water the pigs. In January the NSPCA came at our request and several warnings were issued.
“Several pigs were given, with farmer consent, into the care of a sanctuary. The following year a sanctuary organised a workshop with a compulsory community-service vet from Caledon Vet Clinic who talked about animal care and offered discounted services.”
Last week was the reader’s first visit in several months, and she was shocked.
“The farmers have been assisted with straw, feed and vet care, and a pig with a broken leg was sent to a sanctuary. The farm is the worst I’ve ever seen. It’s a mess, full of hazards, pigs suffering and piglets drowning in mud. It is just awful.”
She says the site is totally unsuited for its purpose. “It was also the decision of the municipality, to which we all agreed, that the piggery had to be moved. I would ban any farmer from keeping pigs in conditions that continue to contravene the Animals Protection Act, and certainly after many warnings. The bylaws and the national act need to be enforced.”
Hermanus Times contacted the municipality for comment, but at the time of going to press it had failed to provide feedback.
