Glenhills cat owner pleads for shootings to stop
The shootings have continued unabated since February with one resident's cat being shot four times.
FOR the past seven months, the Elderberry Drive community has been terrorised by the unlawful discharge of airguns in the residential area. Residents believe that a single ‘trigger-happy’ shooter is behind the attacks. Throughout the reign of terror the shooter has killed a vervet monkey, five Hadedas and also maimed two domestic cats.
One of the Glenhills residents, Karen Werner said her cat, Volksie, had been targeted at least four times. Volksie has been shot in the shoulder, near the spine as well as in the abdomen. In the latest incident the pellet had fractured the feline’s leg bone. Her owners noticed the wound on Thursday, 25 August.
Living in fear
Werner who made a desperate appeal for the shootings to stop said she was living in constant fear.
“Every time my cat goes outside, or I have to leave I fear that I might not see her again. I strongly believe that if the attacks do not stop, my cat will die before the end of the year. She is like my kid and it has been extremely traumatic,” said an emotional Werner.
The distraught residents added that she was at her wits end as she not only opened two cases at the Greenwood Park SAPS, but had also gone door to door to appeal to the community for assistance.
“I have asked my neighbours whether she is a pest, but most people have said that they love her. I have also asked them to phone me if she ever does become a problem. I am feeling so helpless as I can’t protect my baby,” she said.
Fellow community member Jenni-Lyn van Niekerk said she had noted a clear decline in Hadedas in the area.
“In the last three months, we found five dead Hadedas with pellet wounds after they had been shot and killed. They use to nest in the trees. Now you don’t see or hear them anymore,” she said.
Werner said she believed the shooter was dictating what animals could live on the road.
A culture of silence
Steve Smit of Monkey Helpline who has campaigned against all forms of airguns, once again called for an end to the ‘culture of silence’.
“People often know who these shooters are but are either too scared or don’t care to report this form of animal cruelty. People need to step up and take responsibility,” he said.
He said pellet gun shootings were especially prevalent in the Durban North area and that they had noticed more and more baby monkeys being targeted by these shooters.
Smit said many people were under the impression that airguns are not dangerous, however he said this was not true.
“Pellet guns are not toys. We have seen these guns shoot straight through the skull of an adult monkey and we know of at least two people who have been killed by these guns,” he said.
The animal activist called on authorities to take a stronger stance against these weapons.
According to the Firearms Control Act (Act 60 of 2000, Section 120, Paragraphs 3(b) and 7) it is illegal to fire an airgun in residential areas, or anywhere where it could pose a risk of injury or damage to person or property.
Lindsey Fogarty, of the Durban & Coast SPCA said intentionally harming or causing an animal to suffer was in contravention of the animals protection act. “The perpetrator could face up to three years imprisonment and/or a fine of R60 000,” she added. She also urged the public to report offenders. Steve Smit of Monkey Helpline who has campaigned against all forms of airguns, once again called for an end to the ‘culture of silence’.
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