Beachgoers have raised concerns about the health hazards of illegal ritual animal sacrifices taking place on Durban beaches.
People dressed in religious clothing “beating demons” out of congregants, chicken carcasses washed up on the shore and scrawny chickens that have escaped the rituals and now forage for food on the shore have become familiar sights on beaches, according to fishermen and surfers.
Neil Larratt, the eThekwini Municipality’s deputy head of environmental health, said the slaughter of livestock in public spaces was illegal without a permit and the city was policing the situation.
Surfer and spear fisherman Evan Basson said he had seen people with chickens and goats on the beach at 6am some mornings. Chicken heads washing up at North Beach, the Bay of Plenty and the Snake Park beach were a grisly sight.
“Besides the heads being ripped off, I have seen whole chickens washed up, which have obviously drowned. It’s inhumane. I’d like to know who it is who has to pick that up; that’s not cool.
“The worst is it happens on weekends and kids are swimming here.
“They should go far away into the hills and do (the sacrifices),” Basson said. “And now suddenly they are coming with goats as well.
“I would prefer that chicken to end up in my KFC bucket.”
Another surfer, Lee van Vuuren, said he had noticed that secluded beaches like Battery Beach were being used for rituals.
“They have their rituals on the beach and then they dunk the guys in the water and look like they are beating demons out of people,” he said.
Diver Marc Byrns said he often saw people dressed in religious clothing at Treasure Beach early in the morning.
“I have seen dead and live animals on the beach. I don’t really mind though, because it’s a deserted beach,” Byrns said.
The Independent on Saturday reporter Arthi Sanpath said she had been walking on the beach early one morning and noticed chickens pecking away on the shore.
“I saw chickens that looked very unhealthy. Their feathers were missing. Then I saw a municipal parks department van. Two officials got out and caught two of the chickens and put them in the back of the van,” Sanpath said.
Bodyboarder Sheryl Halstead said she had seen a chicken slaughtered at North Beach a year ago.
“There was a man walking with his kid and I heard a noise and he pointed and said they were killing a chicken. I ran to them and started shouting and they quickly slipped off. I was too late, but I made a big fuss about it,” Halstead said.
“I respect the fact that people have different cultures and traditions, but it’s like the right to extend your arm goes as far as my nose starts. When I’m bodyboarding and something bumps me, I think: ‘Oh my, is it a carcass?’
“I want this to be addressed because it upsets me. What if I was walking with my niece and they started doing it?” Halstead said.
Professor Isabelle Phiri, the head of the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the University of KwaZulu- Natal, said the rituals were part of African religious or Zulu practices.
“It could be part of the African instituted churches like Shembe and ZCC (Zion Christian Church), because some of them mix Christian and African rituals.
“The major thinking for rituals is that the animal or bird is a substitute for the person to take away whatever it is that is giving the problem. If it is a sickness it will be taken from the person and put on the animal,” Phiri said.
“Some rituals require the animal to be killed and in others it has to be set free. In some cases it has to be done at the sea and at other times in a forest,” Phiri said.
Phiri said if a beach was allocated for rituals the move would take us “back to apartheid days”.
“If you are going to look at health, there are health concerns when it comes to sewage in the water, and people throwing away bottles and papers, so it should be treated in totality,” Phiri said.
KZN Sharks Board head of research Geremy Cliff said sacrifices on a small scale on the beach were not likely to attract sharks.
“If 200 users each arrived with a chicken it would be a problem, but if there were just one or two on a particular day it would not be a problem. There is a lot of fishing and throwing bait into the water would also attract sharks. Certain sharks will scavenge and feed on animals swept out to sea, but I’m not sure how attractive a dead chicken is to a shark,” Cliff said.
Larratt said the Abattoir Hygiene Act of 1992 and sections 75 and 76 of the public health by-laws regulated ritual slaughter on private property, but did not cover public places.
“Applications for ritual slaughter in public places would not be considered under these regulations, except under exceptional circumstances.”
The department issued 110 permits in 2011 and none was for the beachfront.
“Much of the enforcement on the beachfront is conducted under the sea shore regulations and enforced by the law enforcement section of the Parks and Recreation Department,” Laratt said.
Laratt said the department had not received complaints about the rituals.
“The Parks Department is aware of this matter and does exercise control of the situation. It is, however, conceded that on occasions some events may not be picked up
“The Parks, Recreation and Culture unit will continue to police the situation and take action where required,” Larratt said.
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