Cape Town - The Cape of Good Hope SPCA Wildlife Department has advised the public not to send any animals to Wilke’s Wildlife Rescue and Rehab after removing more than 100 wild animals.
In a joint operation, the SPCA and CapeNature inspected the Pinelands facility after receiving complaints about the conditions in which animals were kept.
On their inspection on Monday, officials found that the centre was operating without a valid permit from CapeNature, a legal requirement for the keeping and rehabilitating of wild animals.
A decision was further made to remove many animals from the property and take them into safekeeping.
According to officials, among the animals were two protected Blue Cranes, which are listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
They also said they found severely underweight and dehydrated snakes, overcrowding, no drinking water for some animals and dirty conditions, including a buildup of months of excrement in some of the animals’ cages.
Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse said some of the animals at the facility were suffering.
“Sadly, a peahen with only one leg and a damaged wing had to be euthanised due to her poor state. She had no quality of life and fell over when she tried to move, immobile and not able to express natural behaviour. More than 60 tortoises on the property were kept in substandard conditions. Two were sick and their health issues are a result of poor living conditions,” said Pieterse.
He added that a warning has been issued to ensure the well keeping of the remaining animals on the property and a follow-up visit will be undertaken to ensure compliance.
Wilke's Wildlife Rescue and Rehab centre owner Margo Wilke said due to personal circumstances, including a medical issue, his permit requirements with Cape Nature had lapsed.
“I am aware that other facilities that have fallen behind with permit renewals have been granted concessions to renew.
“Cape Nature and SPCA visited my facility under a warrant on Monday. Cape Nature invoked the removal of the animals as there was no current permit. However all the species referred to in the press by the SPCA were listed on the outdated Cape Nature permit.
“I was advised by Cape Nature that I needed to relinquish the animals to avoid further prosecution. I was verbally told on the day that the opportunity to submit paperwork to renew my permits would not be considered,” said Wilke.
He however disputed that some of the animals were in poor condition.
“As the confiscation was under the authority of Cape Nature I am unaware as to who undertook the assessment of the condition of the animals. One snake was anorexic. This snake was feeding constantly and its condition was being monitored.
“With respect to the criticism of the tortoise conditions, I wish to state that I had geared the holding area for the tortoises to be in full sun and I am willing to provide evidence of the weekly cost of providing a varied diet (fruit, vegetables and greens) that I incurred,” said Wilke.
He added that he was the one who requested the SPCA to euthanise a peacock whose leg was removed by a veterinarian surgeon after being stood on by a horse as a juvenile.
“The intention was to evaluate how the animal coped as it matured. Once it reached its adult weight it was obvious that the animal was not comfortable and the intention was to euthanise it in the foreseeable future.”
Cape Times