Cape Town - The Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s wildlife department has issued Wilke’s Wildlife Rescue and Rehab with another warning following substandard hygiene conditions at its property.
The Pinelands facility also faces the possibility of never accommodating wild animals in its rehabilitation, which they have been doing for more than 40 years.
In a joint operation, the SPCA and CapeNature inspected the facility last month and found that the centre was operating without a valid permit – a legal requirement for the keeping and rehabilitating of wild animals.
More than 100 wild animals were removed after the visit.
According to officials, among the animals were more than 60 tortoises and two protected Blue Cranes.
They also said they found severely underweight and dehydrated snakes, overcrowding, no drinking water for some animals and dirty conditions, including a build-up of months of excrement in some of the animals’ cages.
Cape of Good Hope SPCA Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse said they recently conducted a follow-up inspection, however, the conditions remained unsatisfactory.
“A further warning was issued for concerns found. Another follow-up inspection will be conducted in due course to ensure compliance. Hygiene remains a concern on the property,” said Pieterse.
Wilke’s Wildlife Rescue and Rehab centre owner Margo Wilke said the hygiene concerns of the SPCA related to not cleaning cages more than once a day.
“I can confirm that another warning was indeed given.
They want us to clean the cages two to three times a day. There was also a pond that needed to be cleaned.
We are only left with domestic animals here and we have been inundated by calls from people wanting to send their wild animals for rehabilitation.
“When the officials from SPCA and CapeNature removed all the wild animals because they found out our permit expired we requested to reapply and they said no at that stage.
I requested again during the recent inspection and they told me if I attempted to reapply we will not get the animals back.
I am aware that other facilities that have fallen behind with permit renewals have been granted concessions to renew,” said Wilke.
Wilke explained the permit requirements lapsed due to personal circumstances, including a medical issue.
The facility disputed that some of the animals were in poor condition and said their facility’s reputation has been tarnished.
“We relied on donations so financially this had no impact however our reputation has been destroyed but what the SPCA put on social media.
“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,” said Wilke.
Cape Times