NSPCA cries wolf
SANDTON – As part of their anti-dogfighting campaign, the NSPCA created a fake pit bull fighting advertisement which outraged the public.
Dogfighting is cruel and unethical.
In a desperate attempt to create awareness about this cruel practice, the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) created a fake pit bull dogfighting advert which was displayed on a bakkie and driven around. This stunt led to mixed reactions.
The website on the advert, www.cajunrules.co.za, originally depicted a dogfight between two pit bulls, Nitro and Thor. After multiple anti-dog fighting social media statuses, the advertisement on the website was covered by an NSPCA banner which stated: “The dogfight advertised is not a real event. How do you stop dogfighting in South Africa? You start a fake dogfight.”
Michelle Salgate, who is a part of marketing at the NSPCA said, “We confirm that our organisation is behind this advert. Dogfighting is on the rise and we need to talk about this issue and people need to hear about it.
“This happens everywhere. People cannot sit on any information on dogfighting and need to report incidences to Wendy Wilson at out specialised unit for dogfighting.”
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Soldiers Against Dogfighting (SAD) spokesperson, Michael Costa said, “We are completely against dogfighting and support the NSPCA, however, we feel that the advert was done in bad taste. Firstly, the advert depicts pit bulls in a negative manner and made them look extremely aggressive. People should not identify this particular breed of dog like this as these dogs are not born as fighters.”
Costa believed that this advert should rather have been used to name and shame syndicates that promoted dogfighting. He added, “The safety of the man driving the bakkie that carried the [image of the pit bull] was also a huge concern. Many residents who are against dogfighting were threatening to attack him.”
In response to Costa’s comments, Salgate explained, “Sadly, pit bulls are the choice of breed when it comes to dogfighting and we have to give these dogs a voice. These dogs are loyal to their owners to their own detriment and often even die as a result. Many pit bulls are being stolen for fighting.” She put an important question to all pit bull owners, “Can you protect your pit bull?”
She highlighted that there was a misconception when it came to dogfighting and stressed that it was not only an issue in poor areas. “Dogfighting happens in all areas, all over the country.”
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Salgate elaborated on the issue of the safety of the driver and said the driver was briefed about possible repercussions. She said as soon as the public started getting aggressive, the driver was pulled off the road. “This advert was supposed to go around for five days but only lasted five hours as a result of the public outcry,” added Salgate.
Stephen Maila, an inspector at the Sandton SPCA said his association would not comment on this advertisement but highlighted that animal cruelty was a huge issue all over Sandton. He said he recently worked on a case where two pit bulls, which were kept on short chains, were not being properly cared for by their Sunninghill-based owner and one of the dogs was severely injured in an apparent dogfight between the two.
The SPCA had to intervene and the organisation is keeping a close eye on the owner.
Details: Wendy 011 907 3590/91/92.
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