Pet and Bird Farm back in claws of controversial owner
Once-favourite community destination back with owner under whose management 30 animals were confiscated by SPCA.
It recently came to light the West Rand Pet and Bird Farm is back under management of its controversial previous owner, Glenn Hatfield.
This after brothers Garry and Jeandré Saunders took over in January 2014 with the hope of transforming the precarious plot into a well-known, enjoyed community venue.
In mid 2013 under management of Hatfield, the farm spiraled into a state of disarray with complaints streaming in to the Record. The Roodepoort SPCA followed the case closely and finally wrote a seizure notice and confiscated 28 animals and two snake carcasses on 25 July.
West Rand Pet and Bird Farm exposed
More controversy arose around the place’s keeping and selling of kittens and puppies. There was also an arctic fox kept on the premises in harsh living conditions which Hatfield at the time refused to surrender to the SPCA. During their reign, the Saunders’ handed over the petting zoo to neighbouring business Jungle Nook’s owner Cecile Gomes and focused their efforts on the pet shop itself. It is unclear how the shop and zoo will run going forward. The Record has learned that Hatfield is abroad at the moment and is awaiting his comment on the situation.
The Saunders brothers hope that Hatfield will do a better job of running the shop and zoo this time around. They said they had no choice but to cut their losses and move on, and listed a few bad business months as part of the reason. According to Garry they put their hearts and souls, and a large amount of money, into the business to try and make it work. The SPCA had not needed to issue notices while they managed the shop.
“We really worked hard to fix the place up, to make sure the animals are looked after and the staff is happy,” he told the Record in an interview.
“We even committed to paying the staff overtime for extra hours worked, a benefit I understand they didn’t have before.
“Eventually, having put so much of our own money into it we started taking out loans to keep the cash flow going, but that tap quickly ran dry.”
He confirmed it was sold back to Hatfield at the beginning of May this year, “but unfortunately the loans didn’t disappear when the sale was concluded”. They didn’t inform the community as they were aware of the controversy connected to his name. Jeandré and Garry both said they’re now training for different jobs to start paying back the large debt they accrued while in business.
“What else could we do? We couldn’t run the business at the cost of our own livelihood any longer.”
Roodepoort SPCA manager Mandy Cattanach is upset with the news but said Hatfield has already made strides in the right direction. The SPCA will keep an eye on operations. One ray of hope is that Hatfield eventually surrendered the arctic fox to them, she said.
Puppies in appalling condition at West Rand Pet and Bird Farm
“We’re collecting the fox from the Farm today and transporting it to a sanctuary in Cape Town, where it will enjoy a temperature-controlled room and specially-installed tunnels,” Cattanach said yesterday (Tuesday 6 October).
The Roodepoort SPCA appeals to residents for donations to help cover the unplanned expense. The Roodepoort SPCA can be contacted on 011 672 0448.
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