This comes after a cow, nicknamed Mr Brown, was found dead in the enclosure this morning.
Tania Forrest-Smith, of the Bunny Park Animals 911 Group, said she received several WhatsApp messages and phone calls this morning, informing her that there was an unresponsive cow in cows’ enclosure.
READ: Bunny Park staff to face cruelty charges
She immediately contacted the SPCA and members of Ban Animal Trading (Bat).
Forrest-Smith was distraught at the news of the animal’s death, and said she believes there is foul play by the workers of the park.
“I would like to know how a healthy cow – that I was hand-feeding on Wednesday – could suddenly die overnight; there was a tractor parked there with a scoop that was used to remove the said cow, that was in great health on Wednesday,” she added.
Forrest-Smith feels workers had a hand in the animal’s death, out of spite and hatred for the volunteers.
The Bunny Park Animals 911 Group posted a photo of a backactor on its Facebook page at around 5pm on May 12, querying the reason for the vehicle’s presence.
“Unsure why there is an unmanned construction vehicle in the cow enclosure at 4pm? Our cows seemed very wary of it and it’s parked in front of their house?” the post read.
The City Times visited the park this morning and witnessed volunteer groups feeding the park’s inhabitants.
Emotional members arrived to hear of the news of Mr Brown’s death.
“This park has to close because animals are dying,” Forrest-Smith told the City Times.
“… Unless they close the park we will sleep here the entire night. ”
Benoni SPCA co-chairperson Shelley Owens confirmed that the society was at the park this morning.
She said the SPCA will await the outcome of the post-mortem into the death of the cow and take action accordingly.
Forrest-Smith said Bat has arranged for a private veterinarian to collect the carcass from the metro’s veterinarian today, to “find out for ourselves what happened to the cow”.
Metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe said the carcass was taken to a vet and that the municipality is awaiting the results.
