Livestock theft is on the rise, with devastating consequences for subsistence and commercial farmers, and the red meat economy generally.
Several recent cases, in the North West, Free State, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, suggest the involvement of organised crime syndicates.
A livestock thief could be a neighbour, a local livestock speculator or even a livestock auctioneer, said Jess de Klerk, a farmer in the Paul Roux area of the Free State.
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