MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By KWANELE DHLADHLA, Times of Swaziland – “MBABANE – A total of 362 cattle have been killed in the Manzini region in just one week.

The cause of death has been identified as hypothermia that came about as a result of the incessant rainfall and subsequent low temperatures experienced from last Tuesday.

Director of Veterinary and Livestock Services Dr Xolani Dlamini, said the toll rose to 362 yesterday.

This figure only reflects cattle reported to have died by 5pm yesterday.

Dlamini said following autopsies conducted on the dead cattle, it was discovered that the main cause of death was cold temperatures.

Most cattle that died were calves and cows which were not well fed, kept in kraals with mud and lacked sufficient fat in their bodies to withstand the harsh temperatures.

‘The number of cattle that died as a result of hypothermia, which is a natural disaster that will show Swazi farmers the importance of keeping livestock in good health.

‘I am saying this because, had the cattle been well fed and stayed in kraals with less mud, the number of dead cattle would not have escalated to over a hundred.

‘What exacerbated the situation is that during winter there are less salts in grass, a factor which made the cattle unable to withstand extremely cold temperatures,’ said Dlamini.

More deaths are anticipated with numbers likely to escalate to 1 000 countrywide by Friday.” Read more.