SPCA vice chair explains Facebook hunting pic

Estella Naicker

A FACEBOOK photo of Stephan Vickers clutching a rifle and crouching behind a gemsbok he hunted has animal lovers up in arms about his position as vice chairman of the Vryheid SPCA.

An official of the National SPCA (NSPCA) confirmed that hunters and fishermen are not allowed to be members of the SPCA as it contravenes the organisation’s ‘Statement of Policy’ and, “members are expected, not just to understand the policy, but to live it.”

According to the SPCA’s policy, “The Council does not believe that sport justifies causing suffering to animals and therefore is opposed to the hunting or fishing of any animal for sport, recreation or entertainment.”

Mr Vickers pointed out that the photo, posted in May 2014, had been taken a long time before he had an interest in becoming involved in the SPCA and explained that he had not been hunting for sport, but had been assisting a farmer to cull his herd.

“I grew up on a farm, where you are exposed to stuff like this. Yes, I have hunted in my life. Everybody has done things in their life… But I have been raised with the understanding that the only time you kill an animal is for the pot, to eat it. I don’t belong to any hunting clubs and I would not get involved in the SPCA if I was a dedicated hunter,” he said. “I rarely hunted before and I will not hunt or fish again because I am dedicated to the cause. The SPCA really opens your eyes.”

Demonstrating his commitment to making a difference as a committee member of the SPCA, Mr Vickers has also made arrangements to have all his pets sterilised so as not to contravene the ‘Population Control’ section of the SPCA policy.

Mr Vickers was born in the Eastern Cape but has resided in Vryheid for most of his life. Starting off as a merchandiser, packing shelves at Shoprite after matriculating, he quickly climbed the corporate ladder in the marketing field, before starting his own business. He intends to use his strong business acumen to benefit the SPCA.

“Running the SPCA is not much different from running a business. If we don’t pay for lights and water, we don’t have any. If we don’t pay our salaries and accounts, we can’t function. If we don’t market the SPCA properly, we won’t have an income. If we don’t abide by the policy, we won’t have the community’s support,” explained Mr Vickers.

“I believe that the diverse skills possessed by the current members of the SPCA committee will greatly benefit the organisation. In a very short period of time, we have accomplished a lot. We have already paid R10 000 of the R50 000 we owed the vet. Repairs and maintenance is underway, and over the next two weeks we will be addressing staff shortages.”

Mr Vickers concluded by re-iterating that he is dedicated to serving the SPCA to the best of his ability and saying that he is committed to living by the organisation’s policy.