Boerboel, boerboel, toil and trouble
An ugly online dispute has highlighted serious issues raised by international demand
An angry American buyer and an outraged South African breeder this week apparently laid to rest a very public dispute over boerboels and so kept it out of the courts of both countries.
But the immediate, and perhaps long-term, future of the lucrative trade in boerboels remains at stake, buried hatchet or not.
An official investigation sparked by their altercation — into how six boerboels were shipped out of the country without the proper paperwork and in poor health — may still go ahead.
That inquiry will inevitably feature a long-running dispute about the management of the export of the distinctively South African dogs.
That, in turn, is unlikely to do any favours for a segment of the boerboel breeding community, who are threatening to take the government to court about an export ban. (See “Dogfight over black breed”)
It all started late last year when Mpumalanga breeder Pierro Erwee sent six dogs to Colorado without the medical and ownership paperwork. The dogs arrived severely traumatised and apparently had been mistreated, according to United States breeder Paul Riebe.
“You can’t get near the dogs, you can’t touch the dogs,” Riebe said. “If you touch the dogs they pee all over themselves. The dogs were like wild animals.”
Riebe took his complaint online to forums where boerboels are advertised for sale. He also lodged an official complaint with the South African department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, which is responsible for the regulation of trade.
“This has serious implications as it damages our reputation as a country,” said the department’s registrar of animal improvement, Joel Mamabolo, who confirmed a fullscale investigation was underway.”
Riebe had demanded a full refund of the $13 000 (about R200 000) he said he had paid for the dogs.
Erwee initially reacted furiously to the allegations and laid the blame for the condition of the dogs at Riebe’s door.
“I sent perfect dogs that are well taken care of,” Erwee wrote in a Facebook post. “Did I make a mistake by selling dogs to Paul Riebe? Yes, I did. He does not deserve one Mail & Guardian