A step too far, says CROW
The death of a Blue Duiker and its baby recently shows the cruelty of keeping wild animals as pets.
CROW (Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife) is one of South Africa’s longest serving wildlife rehabilitation centres, based in Durban that assists wild animals in distress throughout the KwaZulu-Natal province. Although CROW shares a lot of happy memories of released patients that are now living their out their days peacefully in the wild, sadly, for some of CROW’s admissions, it’s not always a happy ending.
According to Chandré de Bruyn of CROW a heavily pregnant Blue Duiker was recently dropped off at the CROW centre after being rescued from an infamously growing trend of keeping wild animals as pets. Following a thorough physical examination conducted by the CROW clinic team, it was discovered that the Blue Duiker’s hooves had been cut down to the nerves with some sort of cutting tool (or from being housed on a concrete floor). This resulted in excruciating pain and stress for the duiker, which was compounded by her pregnancy.
“Frighteningly, these cases are common, featuring the filing down of teeth, horns, and hooves, as well as the docking of tails and ears for aesthetic purposes. Some of these heinous acts are rationalised by people as a way of safeguarding their children or pets from the hazards of keeping a wild animal as a pet. The illegal keeping of indigenous wild animals and the seemingly legal trade and ownership of exotic wildlife, is something that is growing at a rapid rate, with only a handful of organisations on the forefront of this silent war,” she said.
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In the case of the Blue Duiker, due to the high levels of stress and pain imposed on the mother, her unborn foetus died before any veterinary intervention was possible. The mother wasn’t far behind.
“Two lives lost because a person decided that they had the right to contain this animal against its will, perform inhumane acts of maiming and ultimately killing a mother and her unborn foetus. For what? I urge anyone who finds a wild animal in need to contact their local wildlife authority or rehabilitation facility. Sometimes these animals aren’t even in need and should be left where they are, or gently moved to a safer area. We all need to work together to ensure the preservation of wild populations,” said de Bruyn.
If you would like to assist CROW in looking after all injured, displaced or orphaned wildlife, join the 1000 100 Club membership programme. For 100 a month, you can help CROW give thousands of injured and orphaned wildlife a second chance. Through CROW’s 1000 100 Club campaign, the organisation hopes to get 1000 people to commit to donating just R100 a month. All 1000 100 Club donations go towards covering CROW’s essential operating costs such as its monthly vets and medical bills, animal food and fuel for its wildlife rescue and release vehicles. Email: info@crowkzn.co.za.
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