Mweiga township butchers on Monday incurred huge losses after at least 25 sheep and goats worth over Sh200,000 were killed by a suspected leopard.
Francis Muthui, the chairman of Mweiga butchers and meat suppliers, said they woke up to find the animals killed and others maimed.
He said this is the third time in a year that a wild animal has gained entry into the Mweiga slaughter holding area.
The butchers said they lost a lot of money during the three attacks.
“We are happy that this did not happen to our children because that would have been another story altogether,” Muthui said.
Butcher Eliud Kariuki said some of them had taken loans to buy the animals and called on the Kenya Wildlife Service to compensate them.
KWS officials suspect the damage was caused by a leopard.
Trader Ngatia Wariara said the animals could have strayed from one of the public or private bushes nearby.
“We urge the government to look for a way of securing the forests to avert further human-wildlife conflicts. We fear that if not hunted down the wildlife may attack our schoolgoing children early in the morning,” he said.
They urged the county government of Nyeri to chip in and do a better perimeter fence around the slaughter slab.
