By Austin Ofori And Newton Ogah:
Following allegations made by Mr. Samuel Okle, a cattle farmer based at Dodowa in the Shai Osudoku district of the Greater Accra region to the effect that they were under serious threat from theft of the cattle which end up in Kpong and Somanya abbatoirs, a chief-butcher at the Somanya abattoir, Mr Salifu Zakaria has denied the allegation, describing the allegations as baseless.
In a strong reaction, Mr Zakaria told Owuraku Asamoah that their sources of the cattle are and remain genuine. He mentioned such places as Ashaiman, Akuse and Asesewa markets as their sources of cattle supply.
Mr. Zakaria said their doors are always opened for inspection and investigations to determine whether their cattle are from suspicious sources or not while insisting that their cattle supply are from trusted sources. He further urged the general public to disregard those allegations and should therefore treat them with the contempt they deserve.
Mr. Okley had made the allegations on the Rite Morning Ride that cattle theft in the district was at an alarming rate. Mr. Samuel Okley who poured out his heart during Tuesday’s Akuafo Se Sen segment of the Morning Ride with Owuraku Asamoah therefore entreated security personnel in his district to investigate prospective individuals who are responsible for the numerous losses of farm animals.
Mr. Samuel Okle expressed surprise at the rapid rate of the theft of the livestock. “Looking at how fat and heavy the animals are, I didn’t even think people could steal them,” he exclaimed.
He suspected that the culprits who were responsible for such activities certainly knew where the cattle grazed and therefore used rope to tie either their leg or neck and after only a relatively short time, the operation is fully done. According to him, further suspicion was that the thieves sent the stolen livestock to the butcheries in Somanya and Kpong to be killed and sold to the public.
Mr. Samuel Okle added that such culprits always came prepared with vehicles on standby to convey the stolen animals to their destinations where they slaughter them and sell their meat either to the chop bars or restaurants operators in the country. He said they were not able to trace the stolen animals, adding that he has lost eleven cows within three months.
He therefore urged security authorities in the district to come to their rescue. He suggested cattle and livestock farmers coming together to form an association to keep in touch with security personnel and also urged the security to properly scrutinize vehicles loaded with cattle.
Source: ritefmonline.com
