Angry residents of villages near Mthatha are demanding government compensation after their sheep died hours after being vaccinated by state veterinarians.At least 33 sheep died on Saturday and Sunday morning at Maqhinebeni village while at nearby Ntshele village, a farmer was left counting his losses after 10 of his flock died.
The owners of the 33 sheep claimed they had died hours after being vaccinated, while the other 10 animals died after they had been vaccinated by government veterinarians a week earlier.
However, the department of rural development and agrarian reform said it would be highly unlikely the sheep would have died from vaccinations, and the deaths were now being investigated.
Samples have since been taken from some of the dead animals.
Yesterday the state vet Dr Chris Matongo said the specimens taken from the sheep would be sent for tests at a laboratory in Queenstown.
“All I can tell you is that this is being handled at a professional level. We can’t say anything until those tests have been concluded and brought back to us,” he added.
Mavis Finca – who lost 18 sheep – said government officials had arrived in her village to vaccinate sheep on Saturday morning.
Hers were the last to be vaccinated. However a few hours later, she was shocked when her children told her some had collapsed.
“It’s just a disaster,” said a distraught Finca. “I depend on those sheep for my family’s livelihood.”
One of Finca’s neighbours, Nothemba Sapepa, reportedly lost six sheep on Saturday.
“We must be compensated for this. It was government people who carried out the vaccinations so they must take responsibility for this disaster,” said Sapepa.
Villager Novumile Mbiko lost two sheep while Buyiswa Bam said she had lost seven.
Bam said she had been preparing to go to a funeral on Saturday morning when she was told there were state veterinarians in the village. “When I got back I found children trying to revive some of the sheep which had collapsed.
“When we woke up on Sunday morning, they were dead,” she said.
In Ntshele village Mzukisi Vuke lost 10 sheep just a week after they were injected with Ivomec. He was however not sure if their deaths were related to the injections.
Yesterday aggrieved Maqhinebeni villagers said they had been given the run-around by state doctors when they wanted to know what had killed their animals.
They provided the Dispatch with a contact number for the man who identified himself as a veterinary services employee, but refused to give his name.
The man said many sheep had been vaccinated with Ivomec and had not died. He further claimed that Bam’s sheep had not been vaccinated, yet still died.
“We have been vaccinating sheep for years and many of those vaccinated did not die,” he said
Rural development and agrarian reform provincial spokesman Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha said department vets embarked on an annual sheep scab control campaign between October and December.
“They were on their routine outreach when they injected some sheep. Some died before being injected while some died after they were injected,” he claimed.
He said it was uncertain what had led to the deaths but that the drug used by the vets was “safe to use on sheep and we have never experienced ill effects where we have used it before”.
He said it was highly unlikely the sheep could have died as a reaction to the injection. “We will inform communities about the source of this unfortunate incident,” he added. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Villagers claim vaccination killed sheep
At least 33 sheep died on Saturday and Sunday morning at Maqhinebeni village while at nearby Ntshele village, a farmer was left counting his losses after 10 of his flock died.
The owners of the 33 sheep claimed they had died hours after being vaccinated, while the other 10 animals died after they had been vaccinated by government veterinarians a week earlier.
However, the department of rural development and agrarian reform said it would be highly unlikely the sheep would have died from vaccinations, and the deaths were now being investigated.
Samples have since been taken from some of the dead animals.
Yesterday the state vet Dr Chris Matongo said the specimens taken from the sheep would be sent for tests at a laboratory in Queenstown.
“All I can tell you is that this is being handled at a professional level. We can’t say anything until those tests have been concluded and brought back to us,” he added.
Mavis Finca – who lost 18 sheep – said government officials had arrived in her village to vaccinate sheep on Saturday morning.
Hers were the last to be vaccinated. However a few hours later, she was shocked when her children told her some had collapsed.
“It’s just a disaster,” said a distraught Finca. “I depend on those sheep for my family’s livelihood.”
One of Finca’s neighbours, Nothemba Sapepa, reportedly lost six sheep on Saturday.
“We must be compensated for this. It was government people who carried out the vaccinations so they must take responsibility for this disaster,” said Sapepa.
Villager Novumile Mbiko lost two sheep while Buyiswa Bam said she had lost seven.
Bam said she had been preparing to go to a funeral on Saturday morning when she was told there were state veterinarians in the village. “When I got back I found children trying to revive some of the sheep which had collapsed.
“When we woke up on Sunday morning, they were dead,” she said.
In Ntshele village Mzukisi Vuke lost 10 sheep just a week after they were injected with Ivomec. He was however not sure if their deaths were related to the injections.
Yesterday aggrieved Maqhinebeni villagers said they had been given the run-around by state doctors when they wanted to know what had killed their animals.
They provided the Dispatch with a contact number for the man who identified himself as a veterinary services employee, but refused to give his name.
The man said many sheep had been vaccinated with Ivomec and had not died. He further claimed that Bam’s sheep had not been vaccinated, yet still died.
“We have been vaccinating sheep for years and many of those vaccinated did not die,” he said
Rural development and agrarian reform provincial spokesman Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha said department vets embarked on an annual sheep scab control campaign between October and December.
“They were on their routine outreach when they injected some sheep. Some died before being injected while some died after they were injected,” he claimed.
He said it was uncertain what had led to the deaths but that the drug used by the vets was “safe to use on sheep and we have never experienced ill effects where we have used it before”.
He said it was highly unlikely the sheep could have died as a reaction to the injection. “We will inform communities about the source of this unfortunate incident,” he added. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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