GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - A family of three was left traumatized after their vehicle struck and killed a horse just outside of Graaff-Reinet this past weekend.
A second horse was also injured and had to be euthanised by the vet the following day.
The vehicle was headed to Somerset East from Graaff-Reinet's direction on Friday evening, September 8, when it hit the horses just outside of Graaff-Reinet.
According to the driver of the vehicle, the road was relatively dark already and he was driving with his lights on in the dim setting in consideration of oncoming traffic.
About 2km from the turnoff to Port Elizabeth outside Graaff-Reinet they suddenly heard something slamming against the car on the driver's side of the vehicle.
Having no idea what caused it, the driver slammed on his brakes panicked by the sound of the thud against the vehicle.
It was then that the driver spotted a dark shape in the road in front of him.
As he had already hit the brakes there wasn't much more than he could do to avoid the object.
The car struck the object - a black horse - on the left side of the vehicle close to where the driver's small son and wife were sitting.
The car suffered severe damage and its occupants had to be taken to the local hospital for x-rays and treatment following the traumatizing incident.
"I was driving below the required speed limit as we were still on the outskirts of the town. I can honestly say that if I was driving any faster my wife and child would have probably died in the accident. My car is a write-off," commented the driver early this week.
"Since the accident I've gathered that stray horses are a problem in Graaff-Reinet. This incident attests to how dangerous this can be," he continued.
"And of course nobody knows who the owner is, therefore there's nobody that can be held accountable," he concluded.
A horse struck by a vehicle in Graaff-Reinet on a previous occasion.
Locals concerned
According to Lize Breytenbach, a local resident who has been actively campaigning for stray horses in Graaff-Reinet to be properly identified and contained, this has been an enormous threat to motorists for several years.
"In November of last year, I pleaded with the municipality to address this issue. The festive season was approaching and because of the increase in traffic through town, I was concerned about all the stray horses grazing around Graaff-Reinet.
In an attempt to solve the problem myself, I appealed to the public to assist in providing these animals with feed so that they could be kept in a pen over the holidays. This proved a temporary solution with the problem again rearing its ugly head a short while later."
Breytenbach continues, "Friday's accident could have easily resulted in a loss of life. Who will take responsibility for this? Will the serious nature of this accident finally result in action being taken against the owners of these horses? This is but one of many incidents caused by stray horses that have been recorded in town these last couple of years."
Breytenbach now wants to know what action is being taken by the municipality to solve this problem.
"Does the law not indicate that the horses must be fenced in and should they go roaming they must surely be impounded? Why does the Municipality allow people to keep horses in a township, hygienic wise this is not allowed.
"According to law no enclosure must be situated within 100m of a residence and no stable must be situated less than 15m of any boundary of any land, dwelling or other buildings or structure used for human habitation or within 50m of any well, water source or other sources of water supply intended or used for human consumption.
"These owners need to have stables for their horses, did the Municipality check on this? Why are these horses still unmarked so that their owners can be identified?"
Breytenbach concluded, "I plan on drawing up a petition and I urge the community to support this initiative so that we, as the ratepayers, can put pressure on the municipality to force horse owners to keep their animals fenced in - should they be unable to afford the care of their horses they should be sold to someone who can. They shouldn't be allowed to roam through town looking for water and grazing in other resident's yards and the like."
Comment from the Dr Beyers Naudé Municipality has been called for, but at the time of going to press no answers had been received.
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