Livestock Theft Costs South African Farmers $10.8 Million in First Quarter of 2025

South African farmers lost at least $10.8 million (R200 million) worth of livestock to theft in the first three months of 2025, according to a recent report by AfriForum, a South African civil rights organization.

Despite an apparent 8.9% decrease in reported livestock theft cases in the last quarter of the 2024-2025 financial year, AfriForum warns that the figures do not tell the full story of the crisis plaguing the agricultural sector.

Hennie Bekker, AfriForum’s Highveld district coordinator in Mpumalanga and developer of a new training course on combating livestock theft, emphasized that the financial impact extends far beyond the reported $10.8 million. “Farmers face additional losses from reduced breeding potential, the high cost of security measures, and increased insurance premiums,” Bekker said. “These expenses must be factored in to understand the true economic toll of this crime.”

The Eastern Cape was hit hardest, with 1,628 livestock theft cases reported in the fourth quarter of 2024-2025. Mpumalanga followed with 569 cases, and six of its police stations ranked among the top 30 nationwide for the highest number of livestock theft reports. Three of these stations also saw an increase in cases compared to the same period in the previous financial year.

Nationwide, over 19,000 sheep, nearly 12,000 cattle, and 12,000 Boer goats were stolen in the last quarter alone. Over the past year, more than 25,600 livestock theft complaints were filed. However, Bekker noted that these numbers likely underrepresent the problem, as many cases go unreported due to inefficiencies in the system.

“Farmers are spending millions on guards and technology to protect their livestock,” Bekker said. “Combined with economic pressures on the meat market, this makes profitable farming nearly impossible for many.”

Bekker also highlighted systemic issues, including the misclassification of livestock theft cases and reluctance by some police stations to register complaints. In one recent case reported to AfriForum, a farmer was turned away by three police stations when attempting to report the theft of livestock valued at over $5,400 (R100,000).

The South African Police Service (SAPS) stock theft units face significant challenges, including understaffing, outdated or unreliable vehicles, and the need to cover vast rural areas, sometimes spanning more than 11 police stations per unit. “Sophisticated livestock theft syndicates exploit these weaknesses, often transporting stolen animals across provincial borders, making tracking more difficult,” Bekker explained. Stolen livestock is frequently sold at auctions or to speculators over 125 miles from the crime scene, complicating recovery efforts.

Experts consulted by Maroela Media attributed the reported decline in theft cases to farmers’ proactive security measures rather than effective police intervention. Gilly Scheepers, owner of Bloukruin Estate, where farmworker Brendin Horner was murdered in 2020, told Maroela Media that little progress has been made by police in tackling livestock theft. “We’ve had to rely on our own people, horses, and drones to secure Bloukruin,” Scheepers said. “It costs a lot, but we’re not giving up.”

Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s head of community safety, stressed the importance of community involvement in combating the issue. “Farmers must join local rural safety structures, like AfriForum’s farm watches, and immediately report instances where police refuse to register theft cases,” he said. AfriForum recently launched a training program to equip its 170 neighborhood and farm watch members to fight livestock theft more effectively, with a free online training session scheduled for June 18.

As livestock theft continues to devastate South Africa’s agricultural sector, farmers are increasingly taking security into their own hands, underscoring the urgent need for improved law enforcement and systemic reforms to address this escalating crisis.

Sources: AfriForum, Maroela Media.