Target: Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo, Prosecutor-General, National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
Goal: Seek review of a lenient sentence, impose a lifetime animal-ownership ban, and ensure full restitution after a heifer was stabbed twice.
A man slipped into a grazing herd and stabbed a heifer twice in the stomach before fleeing when a witness noticed him. Authorities arrested the suspect soon after. The animal’s owner placed the heifer’s value at US$700, underscoring both cruelty and loss.
Court outcomes include a sentence largely suspended or converted to community service, conditioned on repayment. Such outcomes may appear inadequate in cases that involve deliberate violence against a restrained, defenseless animal. A stabbing delivered amid a herd sends a message of menace that ripples through communities that depend on cattle for livelihood and dignity.
Meaningful accountability deters repeat harm. Prosecutors can reportedly seek sentence review where permitted by law, advocate for lifetime bans on animal ownership or supervision in violent-cruelty cases, and ensure restitution orders are enforced in full. Clear prosecution guidance for future cases should request custodial terms where facts allegedly involve weapons, purposeful wounding, or calculated evasion. Sign this petition to call for those steps now.
PETITION LETTER:
Prosecutor-General Matanda-Moyo,
A heifer was stabbed twice in the stomach by a man who mingled with a herd, then fled when seen. Police action followed, and court proceedings resulted in a sentence largely suspended or converted to community service with a compensation condition.
We respectfully urge your office to consider filing for sentence review where the law allows and to advocate for stronger outcomes in comparable violent-cruelty cases. A lifetime prohibition on owning or supervising animals should be sought when facts show deliberate wounding with a weapon. We further ask for strict enforcement of restitution, along with compliance checks that verify payment and adherence to any bans.
We also encourage issuance of prosecution guidance that requests custodial sentences in cases involving knives, calculated stealth, or aggravated suffering, and that seeks court-ordered counseling where indicated. Visible, proportionate action will deter future cruelty and affirm community confidence in the justice system’s protection of animals and livelihoods.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: ILRI
