Tribesmen wanted lion's share. (16 November, 1998)

Villagers up in arms after officials seize biltong

Mahlathi villagers near Giyani are in a tug-of-war with Kruger National Park game rangers over the remains of three lions trapped and killed in the remote Northern Province district last week.

The angry villagers, who say they killed the lions for attacking their cattle, criticised police and game rangers for confiscating the animals' remains - including a large quantity of lion biltong, on Wednesday. The lions reportedly escaped from the Park and have killed six head of cattle over the past three months. The failure of Park rangers to fix fences between the Kruger Park and local settlements apparently prompted villagers to design and build large traps for the predators.

"Each time lions cross over and kill our cattle, Park officials claim they can't be held liable for the damage the animals cause because its outside their fences," said one villager, who did not want to be named for the fear of being arrested for killing the lions. "We are forced to kill these beasts before they maul us and kill our stock," he explained. "This is a village, not a game reserve, and we therefore can't live with dangerous animals like lions roaring around here and threatening our lives," he added.

Inspector James Ngoepe, regional police spokesperson, confirmed that the police raided at least three houses and confiscated fresh lion meat, three lion skins, animal traps and three unlicensed hunting rifles last week. He said the latest lion to be trapped and killed was on November 8. Park rangers were apparently alerted by disgruntled villagers unhappy with their share of meat.

Three villagers, including a pensioner, have been arrested and charged with the illegal possession of wild game. Samson Rikhotso (68), Daniel Baloyi (63) and Joseph Makaringe (30) were not asked to plead in the Giyani Magistrate's Court on Thursday and were granted R500 bail each. The case was postponed to December 7. Magistrate Gordon Hlongwane ordered rangers to burn all the meat to solve the matter of ownership.
By African Eye News Service. Courtesy of The Star.