Durban - Cases of bestiality, also known as zoophilia, were not taken seriously enough, with animal rescue organisations struggling to get police to investigate the grotesque acts.
Laurencia Ramchunder Scott, founder of Cinderella Animal Rescue Durban, said they had requested to open a case of bestiality which was later changed to animal cruelty, following allegations of a Phoenix resident advertising his fetish and offering his services on an online site.
“We received a call on April 16 pointing us to an advertisement in which a man was looking to have intercourse with female dogs and that men (with a certain sexual preference) with female dogs who are interested should contact him. We had no details of the suspect at the time of receiving the call from a member of the public, except that he was from Phoenix and in his 20s,“ said Ramchunder Scott.
She said they set up a sting operation and was able to contact the suspect via WhatsApp.
“He gave us detailed descriptions of his first sexual experience with animals, provided us with a purported photo of him as well as a video purported to be of him in the act. We managed to link his social media accounts and get a general location of his whereabouts. However, he later retracted his video and denied it was him," said Ramchunder Scott.
She said that the matter was reported to the Phoenix police station. "Members at the Phoenix police station didn't seem to understand the severity of the case. When they were advised that we needed to open a case against someone who allegedly committed bestiality, it was treated like a joke. We were eventually able to open a case of animal cruelty,“ she said.
However, Ramchunder Scott said the case has since been transferred to the Verulam police police station and was told that this was done because her organisation is based in Verulam.
“We have worked around the clock to find out information and details about the suspect. The details that he revealed to us via his WhatsApp chat were disgusting and appalling. This kind of abuse should not be taken lightly and the law enforcement needs to uphold the law, even if the case is not a straight forward one.
We have since found out that the matter was moved to Verulam SAPS. Cinderella Animal Rescue Durban NPC, normally deals with stray and abused animals and this was the first case of bestiality that we have taken on. We have managed to find information that we hope could lead to a thorough investigation and prosecution if found to be true,” said Ramchunder Scott.
Tanya Fleischer, marketing manager for Durban and Coast SPCA, said while the matter did not fall within their jurisdiction, it called for a full investigation into the cruelty of animals.
According to the SPCA, sexual abuse of animals has been recognised as one of the early warning signs of psychological dysfunction, including conduct disorder in children and antisocial personality disorder in adults.
Within its Guide to Animal Protection Legislation it is stated that there is a connection between sexual abuse of animals and sexual abuse of children and this type of animal abuse has also been linked with violent sex offenders, sadomasochistic practices, psychological and mental disorders and interpersonal human violence.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo, confirmed the case was opened and the matter was still under investigation.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE