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The Government has made the restocking of the national herd a priority. The sentence for stocktheft was increased to about nine years per stolen beast to boost restocking and reduce rustling.
The anti-stocktheft drive and branding are part of Government’s efforts to safeguard the livestock wealth of the country.
Addressing stakeholders at the Matabeleland North provincial re-launch of the cattle branding campaign, Anti-Stocktheft national co-ordinator Assistant Commissioner Bernard Dumbura, attributed the more than 50 percent decrease to branding and co-operation among stakeholders.
He was, however, disappointed because livestock farmers were not branding their cattle, making it difficult to identify the animals when police recovered them from rustlers.
Asst Comm Dumbura said when the branding campaign was first launched last year, the population of cattle in the country was 5 156 753. He said the figure had since increased by two percent to 5 241 192.
“As we work together, we have noted a decline in stocktheft cases nationally. In 2010, 14 882 cattle were stolen and 4 952 were recovered. I am sad to say most of the cattle were auctioned and the money forfeited to the State because they were not branded and therefore could not be positively identified,” said Asst Comm Dumbura.
He said there was a 17 percent decrease in stocktheft cases between 2010 and 2011 as 12 148 beasts were reported stolen.
Asst Comm Dumbura said the importance of branding livestock could never be over-emphasised as it deterred rustlers from moving cattle and made them easier to identify.
“Most of the cattle in the country are still unbranded even though a majority of our farmers have registered brands. We met here last year to talk about brands but there has been little change. Branding is the starting point for development as brands help to trace the origin of meat and assists in disease control whenever there are outbreaks. We must therefore, all take the exercise seriously,” he said.
Speaking at the same occasion, the officer commanding Matabeleland North Province, Senior Assistant Commissioner Norman Sibanda, said cross-border cattle rustling was still a huge problem.
“Some of the cattle that are stolen from Zimbabwe and taken across the borders are unidentifiable as owners would not have branded them. Let us all unite and make our beasts identifiable to avoid the pain of losing them through public auctions,” said Snr Asst Comm Sibanda.
The provincial veterinary officer for the province, Dr Polex Moyo, said cattle should have two brands.
“There should be a veterinary brand and a personal brand. The first tells us the area where the animal comes from and the second identifies the owner. If the two brands are present, recovered animals can be returned to their owner from whichever part of the country they are found,” said Dr Moyo.
He urged villagers to ensure that they do not place brands on places where they damage the cowhide, saying it would lessen the value of the skin when it was sold. The district registrar for Umguza, Ms Ednah Sikhangezile Muringa, said registering cattle brands costs only $2.
“About 181 000 brands have been registered in the country, yet farmers still do not brand animals. The low cost should be more than enough incentive for those who have not registered to do so. The brands are placed in our database and can be identified in any part of the country,” said Ms Muringa.
Today, the campaign will be re-launched in Bulawayo.
The two provinces of Mashonaland West and Matabeleland South would be the two remaining as eight would have held the re-launch.
Among the people who attended the occasion were senior police officers in the province, traditional leaders, farmers, senior civil servants and officers from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).
Online Reporter