WOMAN KILLED IN YET ANOTHER DOG ATTACK
IN LESS than a month, four people, mostly children have been killed in dog attacks in South Africa – the latest being a 37-year-old Port Alfred woman in the Eastern Cape, while on her way to work at the weekend.
While the breed of the dogs involved in the latest incident is still unknown, police believe two men who witnessed the vicious attack could provide them with crucial information in their investigation.
The two ran to a nearby security official to report the incident when they came across the attack at about 7.45am yesterday, said police spokesperson Priscilla Naidu.
“The security official contacted the police. However, when police arrived, the badly injured woman was lying on the side of the road. The woman sustained serious injuries to her face and upper body. The dogs were nowhere to be found. She died prior to receiving any medical attention,” said Naidu.
An inquest docket was opened for investigation, while Port Alfred detectives were searching for the owner of the dogs.
This incident happened as controversial calls and petitions for the ban of pit bull terriers as domestic pets in South Africa raged on following a number of incidents in which children were either killed or severely injured by the dogs.
The Sizwe Kupelo Foundation had garnered 131 002 signatures yesterday of people supporting the call for a ban.
On Wednesday, a 5-month-old child was attacked by a pit bull in the Gonubie Farm area, also in the Eastern Cape.
Also in the past two weeks in the Free State, a 3-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy were mauled to death by pit bulls in separate incidents.
Last Sunday a 9-year-old girl was attacked by the dogs in the Athlone area, as five people were also injured while attempting to aid the child.
Angry residents allegedly stabbed, stoned and then burnt the pit bulls.
The attacks have seen some pit bull owners surrendering their dogs, with the Cape of Good Hope (CoGH) SPCA, saying reports showed 37 dogs had been collected in the Steenberg area since last Monday, and had responded to 65 calls to collect unwanted animals from various areas.
The debate around the ban has now turned racial after 60-year-old Belinda Magor made a WhatsApp voice note inciting the killing of black people.
In a voice note, Magor apparently said in part: “What I say is ban the black man. They rape, they steal, they kill, worse than any pit bull could, and they get away with it. Ban those that are making the laws, ban Ekurhuleni, ban the black man.
“Get all the black women and cut out their uteruses and their ovaries that they cannot procreate because they will all turn out the same because they (are) all the same.
“I’m very passionate about this. Ban them, kill them, shoot them. Get rid of them because they are the problem. Not pit bulls, not animals. Who created the black man, do you think God? I don’t think so.”
She was arrested at the weekend and released on warning to appear again in court next year.
“A case of crimen injuria was opened on November 25 at Boksburg North police station and transferred to Putfontein police station for investigation,” said national police spokesperson Brenda Muridili.
The Weekend Argus also reported that she could be hauled before the Equality Court after the SA Human Rights Commission sent her a letter of demand over her remarks.
Meanwhile, the CoGH SPCA was offering a R5 000 reward for information that could lead to the positive identification, arrest and prosecution of the people involved in the killing of three pit bulls in Athlone.
“Our inspectorate is still investigating the Athlone incident and will open a case under the Animal Protection Act when more definitive information is on hand,” CoGH SPCA spokesperson Marisol Gutierrez said.
Anyone with information regarding the Athlone incident can anonymously contact the SPCA on 021 700 4158/9 during office hours or 083 678 8460 after hours.
The City’s Animal Control Unit was also in the process of compiling a docket pertaining to the attack on the girl for the Directorate for Public Prosecutions to make a determination on the way forward.
Anyone who might know the owner of the dogs as well as the two men in the Eastern Cape incident can anonymously contact the investigating officer Yogan Reddy on 046 604 2405 or 082 332 8794 or their nearest police station.