A handful of protesters gathered outside the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Friday morning, last week, to create awareness about an animal abuse case that has left local animal lovers reeling.
The case stems from an incident in Brakpan Central on January 29 in which a family pet was mutilated and tortured.
The case caused further outrage when the alleged culprit, a 19-year-old man believed to be a family member of the dog’s owner, was released on warning in lieu of bail following his first court appearance on January 31.
Read: Family pet decapitated: suspect to appear in court
He was arrested on charges of animal cruelty shortly after the animal’s horrific death.
It is alleged the man had taken the pet onto the roof of a Wenden Avenue residence where he stabbed it and then threw its lifeless body on the ground in the yard next to the family’s two other dogs.
The little Chihuahua-type dog suffered as many as 60 stab wounds and was decapitated.
Inspector Shiven Bodasing, manager of the Brakpan SPCA, described the scene as ‘bone-chilling’.
The case was postponed to February 22 (Friday) and residents rallied on the day to make their voices heard.
Some held placards bearing graphic images of the dog’s mutilated carcass, while others wore T-shirts with the slogan ‘Jail, no bail’.
Read: Man accused of horrific animal abuse released on warning
Other placards bore a quote attributed to Albert Einstein, which read: ‘The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”.
The protesters called for justice for the dog and handed out flyers bearing photos of the bloody scene to passers-by.
Many were shocked by what they saw.
Brakpan resident Ana Cardosa was one of the residents who protested.
“I believe that everybody should have been at the court today and I’m very disappointed with the turn-out,” she told the Herald.
“I believe this town has a lot of animal lovers and we need to start standing together.”
The case was postponed to March 8.
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