Jack, a pit bull at Gudwulfs Pit Bull Rescue. Photo for illustration: citizen.co.za/ Neil McCartney / The Citizen
The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) and the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation (SKF) have dismissed a fake post circulating that there is a reward of R1 500 for capturing pit bulls or reporting owners.
The NSPCA said the bogus post from an unverified government page poses danger to owners of the power-breed.
“Further to this, people are attempting to impersonate SPCA personnel and demanding that people hand their pit bulls over to them. This is also a scam. The SPCA is not going door-to-door and demanding that people hand over their pit bulls,” said the NSPCA.
The animal welfare organisation also warned people not to hand over their animals to unknown people.
READ MORE: Gqeberha boy mauled to death by pit bulls
This follows the pit bull ban petition started by the SKF, which has garnered over 44 232 signatures, after a 10-year-old Gqeberha boy, Storm Nuku, was tragically mauled to death by two family pit bulls in September.
The petition hopes to put an end to the increased number of people who are being attacked and mauled to death by pit bulls.
The NSPCA endorsed the petition citing that it protects human and animal lives by promoting responsible ownership and emphasised that the aggressive breeds do not belong to irresponsible owners.
The founder of SKF, Sizwe Kupelo, calls for the government to join other countries who have banned and put restriction on ownership of the animal like Russia, Finland, Denmark, United Kingdom, Portugal, parts of Germany, parts of China, parts of Brazil and parts of Australia.
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“We cannot continue losing young people like Storm Nuku to these vicious dogs that have shown time and again that they should not be kept as pets. May young Storm Nuku rest in perfect peace.
“The defence by pit bull lovers that it is how you raise the dog does not hold water. So many people, including joggers have been attacked and killed by pit bulls,” said Kupelo.
When the petition reaches 50 000, it will be handed to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza.
“It is time that the South African government takes decisive steps and impose a complete ban on the ownership of pit bulls as domestic animals. Such a move would prevent further attacks and unnecessary deaths. We cannot continue sending out messages of condolences for something that can easily be prevented,” Kupelo added.
NOW READ: Pit bull petition to protect humans and animals endorsed by NSPCA
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