Danger of stray animals highlighted

“We don’t want to hear of any death caused by stray animals in the Musina municipal area this festive season. Owners must take full responsibility for their animals and look after them safely, so that they may not cause accidents on our roads.” 

These were the words of Cllr Nkele Milanzi while addressing livestock farmers, traditional leaders and community members during the stray-animal campaign at Malale Community Hall.

She also presented reflectors to livestock farmers during the event. Milanzi said that she was happy that the number of road accidents caused by stray animals was decreasing on the roads of Musina. “Last year we had the same campaign at Masisi and we received reports that it had borne some positive fruits. We will keep on conducting these campaigns because they play a meaningful role in saving the lives of our community members.”

She said the municipality was in the process of constructing an animal pound to address the challenge of stray animals. “Our officials are busy with the planning and the actual structure will be hitting the ground in due course. We will also allocate the resources and manpower to consolidate the maximum operation of the pound. Besides saving lives, the pound initiative will generate funds for the municipality because those who delay in collecting their livestock will be forced to accumulate the charges, depending on the stay of the animals in the pound.”

She thanked the law-enforcement agencies, livestock farmers and local community members for their willingness to reduce road accidents caused by stray animals. “The fact that you all decided to put everything aside to attend this occasion truly reflects that you are serious about saving lives on our roads.”

The head of traffic at Musina Municipality, Mr Ailwei Mutele, said his team would work tirelessly to make sure that the local roads were always safe. “We will not hesitate to apply the law to all defaulters. Our aim is to save lives, and those who do not observe the law will be subjected to the disciplinary action as prescribed. We are also grateful that livestock owners are taking care of their stock, although we are still concerned that there are those who do not look after theirs.”

Date:04 November 2018

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