A prominent Chipinge farmer Dawie Joubert who runs the Lupard’s Vlei Farm, lost 25 Brahman cattle after they were struck by lightning on Thursday evening.
Joubert confirmed the incident and said that the Veterinary Services Department was at the scene assessing the situation. The cattle herd had an estimated value of over US$15,000.
The incident occurred barely two weeks after a farmer from the same community was struck and killed by lightning. Meteorological Services Department Chief Forecaster James Ngoma explained how much livestock is prone to danger during the rainy season.
“Normally four legged animals are more prone to lightning than human beings. When there is lightning, its normally a spark from ground to cloud and cloud to ground for the bolt to appear, so as long as there is more contact with the ground, animals are greatly at risk of being struck by lightning.
“It is a sensitive issue because for farmers their livestock need to graze and it is hard to tell when lightning is about to strike or measures to protect the livestock during such times,” he said.
