So far, 49 dogs in the city have been handed over by their owners in the wake of a horrific attack by a pit bull that mauled an eight-year-old child to death after jumping over the fence into a neighbouring property.
Pit bull owners in Bloemfontein, South Africa are surrendering their dogs to the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals en masse.
So far, 49 dogs in the city have been handed over by their owners in the wake of a horrific attack by a pit bull that mauled an eight-year-old child to death after jumping over the fence into a neighbouring property, IOL news reports.
The Bloemfontein SPCA tries to rehabilitate the dogs that they receive, avoiding euthanasia, if possible.
Keshvi Nair, NSPCA spokesperson in a statement on Tuesday said that SPCAs around the country were facing the difficult task of dealing with the aftermath of these attacks.
He said; “Pit bulls are being surrendered to SPCAs in large numbers and, in communities where owners have not surrendered their pit bulls, the communities are beginning to take matters into their own hands. Animals are being poisoned, stabbed, beaten, and set alight in retaliation from angry communities,” she said.
According to the report, the NSPCA has raised concerns over the impact that the mass surrender of pit bulls would have on the SPCA, which does not receive funding from the government. This is in addition to work being carried out in communities, with limited resources.
“We are faced with dealing with this issue alone as well. The SPCA movement is taking action at great risk and cost to assist animals and communities. Realistically, the movement does not have the resources to cover the cost of this national campaign without support from other relevant role-players in this matter,” said Nair.
As the relevant department responsible for this matter, Nair said the NSPCA has formally approached the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Land Reform for its plan and strategy to address this national issue.
“There is an urgent need for government intervention with regard to this issue, failing which humans and animals could be harmed at an even greater scale,” she said.
At least three pit bulls were recently stoned, stabbed and burnt to death by angry residents after severely mauling a child in Cape Town.
The child was said to have been attacked by the dogs in Gatesville, Athlone.
“The dogs had attacked a young girl in a Gatesville field. The child sustained severe injuries and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment,” said the Cape of Good Hope's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
“The community took matters into their own hands and attacked the dogs, stoning, stabbing and hitting the animals with objects before burning them to death.”
SPCA inspector Jeffrey Mfini, who rushed to the scene, found the dogs burning and extinguished the flames. The dogs had succumbed to their injuries. Postmortems will be done at the SPCA in Grassy Park.
“We urge the public to contact the SPCA if a dog behaves aggressively or tries to bite someone. We will take the dog immediately. People must not take matters into their own hands. No animal deserves to endure brutality and suffering,” said the SPCA’s chief inspector Jaco Pieterse.