Although people associate the Carletonville SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) with dogs or cats, an unusual find challenged the norm this week.
According to SPCA inspector, Mrs Bokkie Janse van Vuuren, the organisation received an anonymous tip-off about a man keeping a crocodile in his yard on Annan Road over the weekend.
Although this sounded most unusual, the SPCA checked early on Monday morning. Amazingly, they found the juvenile female Nile crocodile in an aviary in the yard. Although the aviary had glass windows and a stream flowing through it, Carletonville central was certainly not the place for a reptile that could grow up to seven metres in length.
“This was the first time we had to remove a crocodile in Carletonville,” says Janse van Vuuren.
As the reptile was initially a little aggressive, the SPCA called in Johan Lindeque, a local firefighter who also removes snakes. Lindeque caught and held the crocodile while the SPCA staff secured it for safe transport to a wildlife rescue centre in Centurion the same morning.
“Besides it being illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet, it is also unfair to an animal that belongs in the wild,” says Janse van Vuuren.
“Some people think something like a crocodile would make a good pet, but do not consider that it will never be tame and grow enormous. It is also virtually impossible to provide suitable habitat or food and so it could have died from cold or starvation. What would happen if such an animal escapes and injures or kills a child or pet?”
If this is not enough of a deterrent, those who illegally keep crocodiles, a top protected species, could get a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment or face a fine of up to R120,000. By printing time, it was unclear what consequences the guilty man would face.
Although this was the first such case in Carletonville, other wildlife has previously caused problems in the area. Around 2018, a kudu ended up in the toilets at Hoërskool Carletonville after it somehow got loose in the town.
The area was also up in arms when a lion or lions were loose in the Fochville area in 2017.
Janse van Vuuren says anyone who knows about wild animals being kept in the area illegally should contact the SPCA or wildlife authorities. They may remain anonymous.
