Inspector has served the SPCA for more than 30 years

A senior inspector at the Sandton SPCA has been with the SPCA for more than 30 years.

Inspector Obed Mohlala has been part of the SPCA since 1982 and started as an inspector in 1988. Obed said that he has been helping out at the SPCA since he was in school and he decided to join the organisation shortly after.

The married man with two children grew up in Limpopo and has a passion for animals. He started his career as a receptionist working at an animal clinic in Soweto. Mohlala said he realised he wanted to become an inspector when he was working in Soweto where they had a lot of horses in the area.

He recalls the day where an inspector had been called to put down a horse. “They used a gun in those days to put down animals.”

He continued that when the inspector shot the horse and was checking to see if the animal was dead, he saw a man running towards the inspector and he realised that he wanted to go for the gun. “I told him we need to get out of here and we ran away. It was very unsafe in those days with the uprisings taking place.”

After that Mohlala knew that he wanted to be an inspector so he could help the animals in Soweto. “The inspectors were scared to go into the area after that incident.”

After completing his qualification, he became the first black person in South Africa to become an inspector and he is very proud of this fact. He worked in Soweto until 1999 when he went to serve the animals in Pretoria, after this, he joined the Sandton SPCA and has been there for more than 10 years.

Mohlala said that animal cruelty is a big issue and that people need to be educated about how to take care of animals. “In certain places, they love their animals, but there is just no space for the animals and they are often kept on a short chain, [especially in townships].”

His biggest passion is to stop animal cruelty and ever since he has been an inspector, Mohlala has not yet lost a criminal case. This is due to thorough investigation and ensuring that they have all the facts. “My entire life I have been working for animals.”

The biggest challenge for him is still animal cruelty which he said happens to all animals – not just cats and dogs.

Mohlala said he is nearing retirement in a couple of years, but will always assist animals because it is his passion.

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