An unimaginable Animal Cruelty in Juba
By Malith Alier,
Rights are not only confined to humans, they are also extended to animals, domestic and wild because animals and humans have a lot in common. Both are living things that is to say they both have life in them. Second, they are interdependent. Animals are used by humans for meat; milk and hide, payment of dowries, sports and prestige and above all they are a store of value, being wealth for the owner.
Some animals are even used as gods. Surprised? Follow on. The author of this piece revered a lion as ancestral god. In return, animals depend on humans for protection from harm and abuse of any kind imaginable under the sun. This is a fundamental function given to a human being by the creator to look after all animals and the universe as a whole.
As much as Human life needs sustenance through food, water, sleep, comfort, hygiene and protection from all kind of harm, the same can be said of those animals under our direct care, the domestic animals. Those animals in the wild on the other hand are taken care of by nature because their access to pasture and natural habitat is not as limited like that of domestic animals.
Juba, the capital of South Sudan has seen influx of people from a bucolic background over the past 9 years. This is attributed to various reasons such as insecurity, seeking medical attention, trade and education. Those returning from exile prefer to settle in Juba where they can easily access social amenities available here. Rural urban migration is the single main reason for this influx.
With this influx, the population of Juba is now about a million people. Therefore, trade and commerce flourish in Juba, the city of about a million people. The trade in animals is in focus.
The animals, particularly cattle brought to Juba from without and within the country are kept under appalling conditions. These animals are kept in fences some of which have been there for over a hundred years without ground maintenance. An example is the one in Selekana near Juba sports stadium. This is the worse offending fence. It is an eyesore for those who happen to pass through that route.
One often observes cattle standing with feet submerged deep in the muddy earth. The ground is muddy going down two feet. This makes animals to stand the whole night without rest because they can bodily get submerged in the muddy earth if they try to lie.
The second problem there which is not only against the animals but also to humans is the filth and stench on and around that Selekana fence. The animal urine and dung have poisoned the environment in Selekana. The trees around there, the mango trees are dead for the same reason.
Selekana is located in the oldest part of Juba city. This was the centre of the town at the infancy. Therefore, continued keeping of animals there is inconvenient to the animals, people and traffic right now. Taking animals through the suburbs to the outskirts for grazing proves a colossal problem. You won’t miss them cross the main Juba bridge across River Nile and fro morning and evening.
In doing so under inconvenient conditions through traffic jam, the animals are cruelly beaten with long sticks and other instruments to the surprised of everybody on the streets. This is done to chase them faster than the traffic or to give way for the traffic. What happens to their hoofs is a different thing altogether. The cattle’s hoofs are not designed for hard surfaces like the asphalt road.
In 1970s, cattle were not allowed on the roads in Juba. This was the time when the Town Council was very careful about the risks and inconveniences brought about by presence of animals in a build up area. Legend has it that the cattle owners were asked to use baskets to contain animals’ excreta. Everyone is aware that as the cattle go along the road; they release waste therefore, causing pollution of environment.
Flies and other vectors are attracted by such wastes and this is why Juba is a fly City today! Urinating, defecating and throwing rubbish anyhow by intelligent human beings compounds this issue of pollution. Diseases like typhoid and diarrhoea are on the increase but nobody seems to care.
Other animals like goats, dogs and cats continue to die or being maimed on our roads on daily basis. It is unfortunate that these animals are allowed to roam in the city at will. This is a recipe for what we witness on the roads.
Yesterday a military vehicle hit a female dog on the Juba-Nimule Highway in Shirkat. As always, the female dog perhaps on heat has already attracted a good number of male dogs who pursued her across the road. No sooner had it been hit on the leg then it went rolling and howling on the top of her voice. It land on a muddy gutter on the other side of the road writhing in pain while still howling. This brown dog turned grey in the mud. Unexpectedly, the rest of the dogs watched in agony, not fully aware of what happened to their female lover.
This is the fate of goats, dogs and cats in the streets of Juba. No single day passes without several of these innocent animals trample by motor vehicles driven by the craziest motorists who care less except their destination. However, should the motorists be the only people to carry blame? The animal owners along with local government officials are also culprits. The primary responsibility is with the animal owners and then come the local government councillors who fail to pass regulatory laws prohibiting astray animals on the street.
More often than not, it is the motorists and other road users who get blame for causing harm to these animals instead of the real owners who refuse to take animals out of the city. This is a travesty in the face of modernisation through urbanisation. The indigenous people should know that times have change. Roads are constructed for vehicles but not for cattle. This means that as the urban approaches, the indigenous are pushed further away from cities to where they can conveniently harness their cattle without conflict.
Note that this observation is not only confined to Juba, other cities and towns in South experience this conflict between cattle and urban life. Nearly every South Sudanese citizen owns cattle or had ancestors that owned cattle in the past. This is what complicates the matters. The strong association with cattle consistently conflict with modernisation and this is the message all should note.
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