Police are still investigating parrot breeder’s case 3 years later
A parrot breeder saw the court rule in his favour regarding the return of his parrots but still the SPCA wishes to see him prosecuted for cruelty to animals.
Three years after the Randburg SPCA laid charges of animal cruelty against the then-vice-president of the Parrot Breeders Association of South Africa (PASA) and along with Douglasdale police enacted a search-and-seizure warrant to confiscate 18 parrots from him, while the decomposing carcasses of 150 parrots lay on his property, the SPCA is unhappy with a seeming lack of action by the police.
Also read:UPDATE: Parrot Breeders Association member steps down following shocking bird deaths
On the flip side of the coin, Antonie Meiring, who then took this to the Johannesburg High Court as a civil matter, saw things go his way in a settlement.
While the warrant was not set aside or declared unlawful, his application for the urgent release of the confiscated parrots was upheld.
These were returned to him (except for two parrots that were euthanised and one that went missing) and he feels it is the SPCA who mistreated his parrots and is guilty of animal cruelty following the confiscation in January 2020.
“[The] SPCA held my birds that they confiscated inhumanely in cat rooms with glass doors, fed them inappropriately and my vet found their condition deteriorating in their care,” Meiring said.
“Further, the SPCA killed a very rare bird in my aviaries with their incompetence during their raid on my property. They confiscated 18 birds that their vet found to be in good body condition on examination the next day. Of the 18 confiscated birds, one disappeared and they euthanised two without my consent or knowledge, as required by the act.”
In response, Shiven Bodasing, who was an inspector with the Randburg SPCA at the time, but who now works for the NSPCA (the national governing body of which Randburg SPCA is part of), maintains the Randburg SPCA was justified in acting on information received, and the many corpses of parrots they found was evidence of abuse.
“The docket we opened with Douglasdale police was full and they had all the evidence they needed to prosecute,” he said.
“It frustrates me that nothing has been done and I honestly do not expect anything from the police now.”
Douglasdale police spokesperson Captain Mpho Tshetlhane said the case is still open and the police investigation is under way, with no arrests made yet.
When asked specifically what has been done with the case and why no arrests made, she answered again, “Police investigations are under way.”
Questions have been sent to the Parrot Breeders Association of South Africa about this matter and their comments will be published once they are made.
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