Dog owner convicted of animal abuse
"The dog was barely able to walk, sit or stand due to the excruciating pain."
THE Durban and Coast SPCA has welcomed the conviction for animal abuse obtained in court on 2 October.
In July 2016 a docket was opened by Inspector Lucas Moloi from Durban and Coast SPCA against Nthuthuko Chaki, who attempted to castrate his dog by placing elastic bands around the dog’s testicles. The result of which was deep open wounds for the dog. The owner did not render any form of veterinary treatment for these wounds which became infected, considerably swollen and started to rot.
“The dog was barely able to walk, sit or stand due to the excruciating pain. We estimated that he had been suffering for at least two weeks,” said Tanya Fleischer, marketing manager at Durban and Coast SPCA.
The accused was charged under Section 2 (1) (a), (e), (f), (q) and (r) of the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 and upon conviction was sentenced to a fine of R3 000 or three months imprisonment. In addition, he has been declared unfit to own or be in charge of any animal for a period of 12 months from the date of conviction.
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“This is our first case in which an accused has been convicted of contravening section 2(1) (f), among other charges of the Act and we are pleased that the sentence was not suspended in any way, as is usually the case. The request for deferment was also denied by the presiding officer. This was unprecedented for us and we are proud to have brought this perpetrator to justice,” said Fleischer.
Inspector Moloi spent numerous days in court and personally appeared 13 times over the duration of last two years and two months.
“We are immensely proud of our team and all of our inspectors who work tirelessly on each and every case, ensuring that justice is served. This archaic and cruel practice has been commonly used in rural and farm areas in the past. Cases of this nature are rarely reported nowadays but still occur,” said Fleischer.
Report all acts or suspicions of cruelty to the SPCA on 031 579 6501.
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