Pigs terrorising people in Africa’s Kalahari desert

JOHANNESBURG - Pigs are reportedly creating havoc and “terrorising” people in Africa’s Kalahari desert. They are roaming the streets, disturbing road traffic and are all over the marketplaces.

In Botswana’s Tsabong town in the midst of the desert, the pigs are also frequenting backyard gardens and destroying them, Xinhua reported citing the local Daily News.

These stray pigs have been traced to one person - an agricultural demonstrator named Phillip, who was on a mission to operate a piggery but died before completion of the project.

“He was fond of pigs and had planned to rear them in the far end of the village where a pond was dug to take care of them, but when he died no one took over the project and that is how the pigs made their way back to the village,” said a villager named Maggie Stoffel.

“Our backyard gardens are no more, pigs dig them in need of a cooler place, there is no need to have trash bins because everything will be scattered in the morning,” Stoffel regretted.

Piglets are often found dead by the roadside.

An immediate family member of Philip, Victor Vaughan said the pigs found a way out because of hunger and moved towards the village where they survive by eating from the trash.

“I applied for land to rear them in 2008, fortunately I was just awarded last May, which means I will start making something,” he said.

“But I do not sell much of the pork because people here still associate pigs with dirt, while some hate pigs because of their religion. But once in a while, I slaughter one or two to keep for tourists and outsiders who like pork,” he said.

Donald Mothwe, veterinary scientific officer in Tsabong, said their office has a census of all livestock but none for the stray pigs.

“Fortunately, the pigs here have not yet contracted any disease. Bbut if they do, we are going to face a challenge since they do not have a proper place to be traced from,” Mothwe said.