Anti-dog fighting campaign sparks outrage
A hoax campaign launched by the NSPCA has roused confusion and anger from the public.
A CAMPAIGN launched by the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) to highlight the rampant crime of dog fighting in South Africa has sparked outrage from the community.
The animal rights activist group recently launched a fake dog fighting advert in the hopes of facilitating conversation around the growing number of underground dog fights taking place across the country.
Several ‘travelling A-frame trailer’ adverts were placed at traffic hot spots, boldly advertising a pit bull fighting tournament. The brazen advert even included a number people could call for bookings and a website they could visit for more information. Images of the advert quickly went viral with many condemning the activity.
Initially the organisation claimed that they had no knowledge of the adverts and said they would investigate the matter. However, the social media ‘wildfire’ forced the non-profit organisation to admit that the advert was a hoax, causing some backlash from the community.
The organisation apologised for alarming the public and thanked them for their “passionate follow-ups”, but said they rolled out the drastic campaign to highlight the “shocking realities of the crime”.
“Dog fighting is a subject that people should be outraged about” said Wendy Willson, senior inspector and manager of the special investigations unit at the NSPCA. “In addition to the horrific suffering of the animals involved, the crime has a devastating effect on the people, children and societies where it is happening.”
What’s more, she said that dog fighting statistics have grown alarming within South Africa.
“We had to resort to drastic measures to bring this appalling crime to the public’s attention quickly and effectively,” said Willson.
She said stereotypically dog fighting was seen to happen in low income areas, but the NSPCA wanted to show that “dog fighting also takes place in affluent areas, amongst educated individuals who hold professional positions”.
Here are some of the twitter responses to the controversial campaign:
absolutely, it's definitely created the virality but shock tactics don't always work. I guess it's a tough one
— Nadia Singh (@Nadia__Singh) June 27, 2016
HOW DO YOU STOP DOG FIGHTING IN SOUTH AFRICA? YOU START A FAKE DOGFIGHT. – See more at: https://t.co/c2kHU1gEhs https://t.co/SbbwlDrmJF
— AaydeR (@Aay_deR) June 27, 2016
Very very disappointed in this ad campaign. How about not crying wolf next time….
— Lily (@LiezlLiezlm) June 27, 2016
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