DURBAN - THE family of a 71-year-old Phoenix man are devastated after he was gored to death by a bull.
Seelan Chetty was walking home in the Westham area on Saturday when the bull attacked him. It is alleged that the bull gored him twice in his left upper leg. He succumbed to his injuries on the scene.
According to residents, cattle roaming streets with no herdsmen have long been an issue in the area.
Seelan Chetty’s son, Shaun Chetty, said the whole family was still shocked by the incident.
“My wife and I don’t live in the area, so we don’t clearly know what really happened. I do not know how I even feel. It all seems unreal,” said Shaun.
He said it would have been better if his dad had died of natural causes than so brutally.
“My mother, who lives with my dad, only heard him screaming by the gate and she rushed to him. His pants were torn and covered in blood. This must have been traumatising for him and my mother.
“I am feeling so much pain, because he was not sick. He was just a humble man who loved his family and his neighbourhood so dearly. We grew up here and my family has been here for years, but never in a single day have I thought such a tragedy would happen to us,” said Shaun.
He said he hoped the incident would make the cattle owners realise how dangerous and unlawful it was to let their animals wander around freely. A resident, who refused to be named, said the community now feared for its safety.
“We have been reporting these cattle for the longest time. It is sad that it has now come to this. We are worried about our children’s safety,” he said.
Ward 52 councillor Samier Singh said it was a devastating situation for the family, which has to suffer the loss of a loved one.
He said he and other councillors and stakeholders had been pleading in vain with the City and metro police, on various platforms, that something be done to stop the herd of cattle being in residential areas.
“It’s become a norm in Phoenix that this is happening. The excuse we get is that when the metro comes out, they can’t catch the herd owner to issue him a fine or metro police have no resources to confiscate these cows. We really need assistance from the metro in this matter,” said Singh.
Daily News