Chronicle Editor
Mkhululi Ncube, themkhust@gmail
VETERINARY and Agro chemicals supplier, Fivet Animal Health, says it is investigating circumstances in which a farmer bought its cattle feed concentrate product, Nhapi Tapi 98, and ended up losing eight cattle.
Pictures of the unfortunate incident and an audio of an old woman lamenting the loss of her cattle has been doing rounds on social media platforms.
In an audio accompanying the pictures, which were sent to a farmer`s WhatsApp group, the woman who identified herself as Mrs Zodwa Dube said she bought the ‘stock feed ‘ to feed her cattle and help them survive hunger.
“I bought stock feed at Fivet as I have always done to feed my cattle. I bought two bags of feed but I did not realize that this is not the usual feed that I always buy,” she said.
“I am afraid to retell what happened. I fed the cattle in the morning and within 10 minutes of consuming the feed they started acting strangely.
“They started losing power and we tried giving them charcoal, amasese and cooking oil thinking they ate poison. We did not know that they were being affected by the feed,” said the woman.
“By 11am eight of my cattle had died. I phoned Fivet and they told me to give them Vinegar but the older ones were already dead. The vinegar only saved four calves,” she added.
“These are the cattle I used for drought power. I was trying my hand in farming but this happens. I am at a loss of words,” she said with a cracking voice.
In a public statement, Fivet Animal Health general manager for nutrition, Mr Russel Smith, acknowledged the incident saying the company is investigating what transpired.
“Immediately after receiving the news of this incident, we launched a full-scale investigation to determine the cause. Our team has been working closely with all interested parties. While we are still in the process of gathering detailed data, preliminary reports indicate that there may have been a misapplication or misuse of the product, which would have led to the unfortunate deaths of the cattle,” he said.
Mr Smith said their product was “safe and effective supplement when used according to the recommended guidelines”.
More to follow…..
Online Reporter