Manhunt launched after five lions killed on Northam farm

Limpopo police have launched a manhunt after five lions were killed on a farm in the Northam area.

Preliminary investigations suggested the lions might have been fed poison-laced chicken by the suspects who gained entry onto the farm by cutting a fence, according to police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo.

d492b381aee04212bc8e5788e195c1ac — (File, iStock)

“The lions were discovered on Wednesday at about 08:00. Some of them were found decapitated, and some had their paws cut off and teeth removed,”Mojapelo said in a statement on Thursday.

The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Neke Ledwaba, condemned the killing and decapitation of the protected species.

A team of investigators was immediately appointed to track down the suspects.

“As the provincial stock theft awareness and anti-poaching campaigns are unfolding, these poachers must [be] stopped in their tracks and brought to book,” Ledwaba said.

This article was first published by News 24 on 21 November 2019.

What you can do

Support ‘Fighting for Wildlife’ by donating as little as $1 – It only takes a minute. Thank you.

DONATE NOW

Fighting for Wildlife supports approved wildlife conservation organizations, which spend at least 80 percent of the money they raise on actual fieldwork, rather than administration and fundraising. When making a donation you can designate for which type of initiative it should be used – wildlife, oceans, forests or climate.