Durban - The National Council of SPCAs(NSPCA) is set to open criminal charges of cruelty to animals against a Pietermaritzburg dog breeder.
In a statement on Monday, the NSPCA said it had obtained warrants to inspect the breeder’s property twice.
The council said, on both occasions, shocking contraventions of the Animals Protection Act no 71 of 1962 were found.
According to the council, the NSPCA warned the breeder about the contraventions of the Act during the first inspection.
“During the follow-up inspection, the NSPCA once again found (the breeder) clearly contravening the Animals Protection Act no 71 of 1962. The owner only surrendered two of his dogs that displayed clear and severe suffering from the stress associated with being locked in a cage indefinitely. A qualified veterinarian was also present during this inspection,” said the NSPCA.
Senior inspector Nazareth Appalsamy, who is the manager of the NSPCA’s Special Investigations Unit, said the members of staff who inspected the breeders’ property and saw the manner in which the animals were being kept cannot rest properly knowing what those animals are going through.
Appalsamy said, as winter approaches, the NSPCA is more concerned about the welfare of animals.
“The NSPCA will be opening a case of animal cruelty against [the breeder], and we will continue to do everything in our power to bring him to book for the atrocities he has committed against the animals. We have confidence that the Courts will serve justice accordingly once they are aware of what (he) has done,” said Appalsamy.
The NSPCA said the details of the breeders' contraventions would soon be revealed in court.
The council said, every year, more light is shed on the cruelty behind the breeding industry that is often kept hidden from the public by breeders.
It said adverts of cute puppies easily pull the wool over the public’s eyes.
The NSPCA lists some of the conditions that the parent dogs are kept in, and where the puppies were born:
- Typically, dogs used in the breeding industry will never chase a ball in the park, they will never be taken for walks, and they will never get to curl up on the couch next to a loving member of their family.
- Basically, these dogs will be deprived of the very thing they have evolved to seek from humans- companionship. Instead, at “best”, the dogs will be treated like breeding machines, forced to churn out litter after litter non-stop.
- At worst? Their lives will be a living hell- forced to eat, sleep and live in cages covered in faeces and urine, left without veterinary treatment, confined to chains and cages indefinitely, and denied of everything that makes a dog's life worth living.
“While the breeding industry remains unregulated in South Africa, members of the SPCA movement are still authorised to conduct inspections at any place where animals are kept.
“Often, the conditions under which animals are being kept at breeding facilities are unacceptable, and multiple laws have been contravened,” said the NSPCA.
THE MERCURY