Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2015-01-22

Motorists transporting live animals have been warned to avoid using the N1 highway near the Grasmere toll plaza, south of Johannesburg after the recent slaughter of cattle.

On Tuesday, a truck carrying one hundred animals overturned near the toll plaza while travelling from Bloemfontein to Bapsfontein.

The driver claimed he allegedly lost control of the truck near the Grasmere toll after rocks were thrown at his vehicle from a bridge.

Officials arriving on the crash scene said a mob with knives and buckets were chasing cattle that had managed to release themselves from the vehicle, some of which had injuries including broken legs.

“Their intention was to hack meat from the living animals,” the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) said in a statement.

The organization’s CEO Marcel Meredith says a similar incident was reported in Midrand recently where live pigs were stolen from a truck.

 “It’s very dangerous. There are actually signs that warn you that this particular part of the highway is dangerous and we can only say to the meat industry from an animal perspective, don’t drive along those roads. Take an alternative route.”

(Twitter: @Faizie143)