Family’s pitbull stolen from home
Dogs might be taken for selling, fighting or breeding
THE dog-fighting industry in South Africa has increased by 500 percent with the breeding of pitbulls becoming more popular and a source of a quick income, says the Pitbull Federation of South Africa.
Lins Rautenbach, the federation’s spokeswoman, said this in light of the recent theft of a pitbull from Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal.
Five boys were caught on CCTV camera stealing Rocky, the Moodley family’s pet. The children were seen taking the dog through a garden fence while the family was away.
Twelve-year-old Saien Moodley noticed Rocky was missing when he went to feed the dogs. The family was heartbroken as they watched the CCTV footage showing how Rocky had been stolen.
His mother, Jayshree, said they had spent hours searching for their beloved pet, handing out pamphlets and also offering a R2 000 reward.
“We purchased Rocky for R6 000 three years ago when he was a six-week-old from a breeder. Rocky was raised to be calm around children and was not a violent dog. We hope he will not be used for dog fighting,” Moodley said.
The footage showed the boys tampering with the palisade fencing.
The boys brought a female dog with them to lure Rocky closer to the fence.
When cars drove by, or neighbours walked past, the boys pretended to be cleaning the verge.
The footage also showed the boys attempting to grab the dog three times with five- or six-minute intervals.
In the end, they lured Rocky to the fence, placed a leash around his neck and pulled him out of the yard.
After an extensive search and with the help of Animal Rescue KZN, they found one of the boys allegedly involved in the theft, but were upset when the police released the minor after interviewing him. Rautenbach said many youngsters were involved in dog fighting.
“If a pitbull was stolen for fighting, it is generally your lower-level fighters who seize an opportunity to take a dog, go fight it and, if the dog isn’t killed during the fight, it more than likely will die from its injuries,” she said.
She cautioned the public not to try to intervene or investigate dog fighting as it was dangerous and it should be left to the authorities to do so.
Suspicions of dog fighting should only be reported to the NSPCA’s special investigations unit.
Another reason a pitbull may be stolen, Rautenbach said, was people thought breeding them was a source of quick income.
Charges have been laid with the Phoenix police..