The recent appointment of a second temporary caretaker at the park was one of the main reasons behind the vigil, held outside the facility on Thursday (April 21).
The protest was organised by Ban Animal Trading (Bat) and the Bunny Park Animals 911 Group.
On Monday (April 25), the caretaker in question was gone and Gideon Strydom, the permanent caretaker, had returned.
Tania Forrest-Smith, founder of the 911 Group, said Strydom locked her out on the day and refused to let her feed the animals.
Strydom was believed to have been replaced in January, but the metro said he was temporarily replaced for the duration of an investigation into allegations lodged against him.
“A number of allegations were made against the caretaker of the Bunny Park by two civic groups,” said metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe.
“The allegations were investigated by Ekurhuleni Metro Police’s Internal Investigation Unit, which could not find any truth behind any of the allegations.
“Neither one of the two civic groups was prepared to work with the investigation unit or deliver any evidence of their allegations to the investigation unit.
“The caretaker will be back in his position by next week,” Gadebe said on April 22.
Some of the protesters at the vigil, last week, said that, in addition to the temporary caretaker, they were demonstrating because “today (April 21) the metro fed the animals for the first time in a week”.
“One goat gave birth, but can’t lactate, so the vet is coming out next week,” they added.
Karin Stolpe, who was involved in animal welfare in Germany for 14 years, said the problems at the park came down to weak management.
According to the volunteers, five goats gave birth last week and several are currently pregnant.
“The animals are supposed to be sterilised, but there are many newborns that don’t get fed,” said Forrest-Smith.
Last month at least eight bunnies were dumped in the park, “with permission from Willem (the first temporary caretaker)”, according to Forrest-Smith.
“(The department) sent us a schedule for feeding, to be implemented last Monday (April 18), but nothing happened,”she added.
The metro could not be reached for comment on these matters, at the time of publication.
Forrest-Smith said she and Karien van Wyk, one of the protesters last week, had applied for the 911 Group to be classified as a non-profit organisation (NPO).
“Neither one of two of the civic groups are registered in terms of the Animals Protection Act, Act 71 of 1962, or in terms of the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Act 169 of 1993, as animal welfare organisations,” said Gadebe.
“One of the groups view themselves as animal activists and are only listed as a non-profit organisation, not an animal welfare organisation, while the other group is not listed anywhere.”
When asked about the legal action launched by the volunteer groups against the metro, Gadebe said: “The two civic groups filed a motion with the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division, to obtain an interdict to close the Bunny Park.”
“The case is currently under judicial consideration and, therefore, prohibited from public discussion.”
The welfare groups could not give feedback on the legal action taken against the metro, except that it is still going ahead.
“Funding is available on the 2016/17 financial year for the upgrading work of the park,” Gadebe added.
“Environmental consultants are currently busy with an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) of the park.
“This will be followed by a public consultation process to get public input on future developments of the park.”
For more information on the volunteer groups, or to donate food, contact Forrest-Smith on 084 601 1061 or visit the groups’ Facebook pages.
Also read:
- Contention around true nature of Bunny Park’s red ponds
- Welfare groups alienated after metro’s bunny ‘slaughter’ plan
