Dianne Ingram, also going by the name Ritchie, pleaded guilty to seven counts of animal cruelty in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 19 March.
On Wednesday, 5 November the Kloof & Highway SPCA confiscated 28 animals – seventeen dogs, four cats, two pigs, two rats, two snakes and one mouse, from the rented property in Escombe where Dianne was living with her then boyfriend, John Slabbert.
The animals were found living in filthy conditions, with rubbish and animal faeces all over the house. Several of the dogs were underweight and had internal and external parasites, and the animals had no access to clean water. A male pug also had a severe skin condition, which took months of treatment by the SPCA before he could be re-homed.
In May 2013, the Kloof & Highway SPCA removed 20 animals from a property she was residing on in Drummond, and in November 2013, the Durban & Coast SPCA confiscated 25 animals from a property occupied by her, for which she is currently being prosecuted for cruelty to animals. The story was featured on Carte Blanche.
Dianne acquired many of the animals through posts on websites offering animals free to good homes.
In handing down the sentence, Magistrate Robinson said that society needs to be protected against people like Dianne; people have trusted her with their animals, and had they known they would surely not have given them to Dianne.
She received a fine of R3 000 per count, totalling R21 000, half of which is suspended for three years subject to her not being found guilty of the same offence. She was also found unfit to possess or be in charge of any animal for a period of 10 years.
The magistrate also ordered that she pay the outstanding vet account to the Kloof & Highway SPCA immediately. She now has a criminal record.
Inspector Cheri Cooke from the Kloof & Highway SPCA said, “We are thankful to our prosecutor, Advocate Loubser, who ensured that justice for animals is finally being taken seriously in our courts.”
Dianne will appear in the Durban Regional Court on charges of animal cruelty, laid by the Durban & Coast SPCA, on 1 April, and John Slabbert will appear in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on 15 April, after waiting for legal aid representation, facing the same charges as Dianne.
Barbara Patrick, Manager of the Kloof & Highway SPCA ,said, “This is the first time that the Kloof & Highway SPCA has had as part of a sentence that an owner may not own an animal or have an animal in their care for 10 years. We take comfort in the fact that no more animals will be subjected to animal cruelty by Dianne during this 10-year period, and that the public and their animals are protected from her.”
The Kloof & Highway SPCA will continue to monitor Dianne, but also rely on the public to report any cases of animal cruelty that they witness. The Kloof & Highway SPCA can be contacted on 031 764 1212/3.
