Image by Netwerk24: MARY-ANN PALMER
Now a Heidelberg (in the old Transvaal) farmer, Henk de Beer, has taken this to the next level. He has mounted a shiny black coffin on his farm fence. He says this has now ended the tide of stock theft that’s been happening unabated on his farm for years.
De Beer says the cutting of his fence and thefts were disheartening. In one night he lost 17 sheep and even car parts, vehicles engines and scrap metal he uses to fix farm implements.
It was De Beer’s father-in-law who came up with the idea to mount the coffin at the place where the thieves cut the fence to gain entry to the farm. Everybody is now relatively happy with the peace, but policemen tried to get the upright coffin removed because they claim it’s “disturbing the peace”.
He explained to the police that only the thieves are disturbing peace.
Will this start a trend? How many coffins will we see on farm fences until they too are being stolen?
Read in Afrikaans on Netwerk24
