Stray animals pose risks while SPCA is helpless
Resident Johan Nel says he was attacked and his Jack Russel terrier killed by a stray dog that he wanted to help.
POLOKWANE – Anton du Bruyn, manager of the Polokwane SPCA, says stray dogs are becoming a major problem in the city, posing a threat to residents and other animals.
He says about 50% of the animals that the SPCA houses in the city are strays.
Resident Johan Nel says he was attacked and his Jack Russel terrier killed by a stray dog that he wanted to help.
“I found a stray dog on the side walk close to my house on February 5 when I returned home from work in the afternoon. I was concerned and called the SPCA for help,” he says.
Nel explains that the SPCA official on the line told him to lure the animal into his yard and the SPCA would send somebody to pick up the animal.
“The dog was in terrible condition and I lured him into my yard. After he ate the food I gave him, he seemed quite friendly.
“I even thought about keeping him,” he says.
“Later that same day, while we were still waiting for the SPCA to pick up the dog, he attacked me and savaged my dog, Jimmy.
“Jimmy had a gaping hole in his head and his other injuries were so severe that he had to be put down by a vet. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”
Nel says neither he nor Jimmy gave the stray dog any reason to attack them and that they had just walked past him when he lunged.
“I went to the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital where I was treated for two bites, one on my right leg and one on my left arm,” he says.
He says the dog escaped when SPCA officials tried to capture it, jumped over a fence and made his way down the street.
“I never heard from the SPCA again. I decided not to go to the police, because we don’t know who the dog that bit me and killed Jimmy belonged to.”
Du Bruyn explains that the SPCA faces some problems when it comes to picking up stray animals in the city, because the Polokwane Municipality does not recognise the SPCA as the city’s legal pound.
Municipal bylaw 20(1) and (2) of the by-laws of Polokwane Administrator’s Notice 1387 of 14 October 1981 states that the council may for the purposes of these by-laws establish a dog pound and lease such pound to any person or body on the terms and conditions deemed fit and agreed on by the council and the pound master.
The provisions of the said sections shall be placed in a written agreement between the council and the pound master.
“Without this agreement in place, the SPCA has no legal right to pick up stray animals as we can end up in court, accused of stealing animals. That is why we have had to ask people to bring strays to our premises rather than picking them up,” he says.
He says the SPCA will never refuse to take in any animal.
“We want to be the legal animal pound in Polokwane, but we can only do this once an agreement has been reached with and signed by the municipality.”
Du Bruyn says he has the paperwork to prove that he sent a request from the SPCA to the municipality in 2012, but the municipality has not agreed to this request yet.
He explains that some of the problems caused by stray dogs include accidents when drivers swerve to avoid them, fights with other animals and ripping open refuse bags.
Municipal spokesperson Malesela Maubane says municipal officials held a meeting with SPCA officials on Thursday and that the agreement for the SPCA to become the official municipal pound should be in place soon.
