Free State buffalo kills doctor

18 January 2012 - 16:13 By Sapa
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A Pretoria doctor died in front of his son after a buffalo attacked him on his Free State game farm.

The Volksblad newspaper reported on Wednesday that Willie Cronje, 44, who had a medical practice in Queenswood, Pretoria, was also a game farmer near Boshoff in the Free State.

Cronje and his son, Willem, 18, were on the farm when the tragedy occurred on Tuesday morning.

A veterinarian and Cronje were busy sedating two buffaloes to do blood tests before the animals were to be sold.

A friend of the family told the newspaper one of the buffaloes woke up in the boma [livestock enclosure] and stormed Cronje.

He had tried to close a gate to the boma to stop the buffalo from going into the wrong pen. Cronje died on the scene.

Free State police said an inquest would be held into the matter.

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