Farm owner fined R40K after 32 neglected dogs found on his property

A farm owner has been convicted and ordered to pay R40,000 to the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) after 32 dogs were found in awful conditions on his property in Soweto.

According to NSPCA senior inspector Nadia Hansa, the unit, together with the Roodepoort SPCA, inspected a farm owned by Pieter Steyn in Protea Glen, Soweto, in January 2017 and made the shocking discovery.

“A wide variety of breeds, including many pit bull terriers, were being kept in cages and hidden in locked rooms filled with faeces, rotting meat and old bones. The water containers were covered with green scum and tested positive for dangerous bacteria that can also infect humans. The dogs were fed raw, rotting chicken carcasses and many of the animals were sick and injured.

“Among the 32 dogs was a puppy with a broken spine that had been left to drag himself around the property, as well as a young pit bull in a cage whose nose had been entirely bitten off. A number of small-breed dogs had rotting teeth that were falling out. The 32 dogs were removed from the property and a case was opened,” said Hansa.

“The thought of the thick carpets of dog faeces on the ground and the foul stench of the scene still makes me cringe even though it is years later.”

She said Steyn pleaded guilty in the Protea Magistrate’s Court and was sentenced on November 7 this year.

He was ordered to pay R40,000 to the NSPCA and sentenced to eight months imprisonment which was suspended for five years on condition that he does not contravene the Animals Protection Act again.

“Steyn was also denied permission to own a dog for the next five years,” said Hansa.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.