Panic in black village after birth of ‘human’ sheep

The panic the birth has caused in the small village, has now prompted the government to intervene to calm down residents. “We call on the local community not to panic over this deformed lamb. We can confirm that this deformed lamb is not a progeny of sheep ovum and a human sperm,” the department’s chief director of veterinary services Dr Lubabalo Mrwebi said.

The Eastern Cape department of rural development and agrarian reform has issued a statement to assure black residents that it was not uncommon for pregnant animals “to be infected by viruses”. Black villagers regularly engage is such acts, but do not expect any “results” from their actions.

Mrwebi said: “Virus infections in early stages of pregnancy may infect the foetus and lead to the development of malformations in the growing foetus. It is likely that this is what happened to the Lady Frere sheep.”

Superstitious villagers have been in a permanent state of fear and anxiety since a sheep gave birth to the malformed creature which black village elders say are half-human half-beast and “sent by the devil”.

Most of the 4 000 black residents of the village in the Eastern Province, are convinced that bestiality and witchcraft had led to the birth of the creature.

The panic quickly spread, forcing the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development to send out veterinary scientists to carry out tests after pictures of the strange creature went viral, creating a huge upset in the community.

Mrwebi told South African daily IOL: “We can confirm this not a hoax photo but that the severely deformed lamb was born by a sheep in Lady Frere this week which at a glance resembles a human form. It is not however human but a deformed stillborn lamb sired by a sheep and was subsequently infected by a Rift Valley Fever at an early stage of its pregnancy.”

He said unusually high rainfall could lead to an abundance of mosquitoes and midges, both carriers of viruses that cause Rift Valley Fever in sheep.

“The elders when they saw it said it was sent by the devil and was born after a coupling between a man and a sheep and then there was panic. Many people are afraid and will not be happy until it is burned,” one black villager told The Herald Live.

A recent study done in Brazil and published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found a 34 percent prevalence of bestiality amongst men, most of whom were from rural backgrounds, as well as determining that it was a risk factor for penile cancer.

In Europe and North America, penile cancer constitutes less than 1 percent of malignant tumors in men, while in some South American countries and Africa, this cancer type constitutes up to 10 percent. The disease rarely occurs in countries where ritual circumcision is performed in childhood, but is extremely high for Southern Africa where circumcision is also common, especially in the Eastern Province.

In 2004, thirsty Limpopo villagers were so desperate for rain that they were planning to sacrifice their goats to appease vengeful ancestors. Xihosana villagers said the drought was punishment by angry ancestors after a local youth “raped” goats.

Google, the world’s most popular Internet search engine, has found in a survey however that mostly Muslim states seek access to zoophilic sex-related websites and Pakistan tops the list. Google found that of the top 10 countries – searching for sex-related sites – six were Muslim, with Pakistan on the top. The other Muslim countries are Egypt at number 2, Iran at 4, Morocco at 5, Saudi Arabia at 7 and Turkey at 8. Non-Muslim states are Vietnam at 3, India at 6, Philippines at 9.