Government blamed for pit bull attacks
FOLLOWING yet another incident involving a 3-year-old who was mauled to death by a pit bull in the Free State, the Pit Bull Federation of South Africa said the government and law enforcement are partly to blame for the incidents.
This is after 3-year-old Keketso Saule, from Hennenman in the Free State, sustained fatal injuries to the head when he was mauled at his neighbour’s home at the weekend.
The federation’s spokesperson, Lins Rautenbach, told the SABC that it was time for the government to enforce by-laws that regulate the domestication of pit bulls. She said banning pit bulls would not help the situation.
“This is a problem, and it’s a problem that we are now laying at the feet of our law enforcement and our justice department. Banning the breed of dog isn’t going to work in
South Africa. Licensing needs to come back. If a problem dog is passed on to a neighbour or a friend, when it attacks, you, as the owner, are the one who caused this. Then we need to look at how properties are, how these dogs are being contained,” she said.
Keketso is reported to have been playing in a neighbour's yard when the dog attacked him. He died at the scene.
His attack comes a few days after 8-yearold Olebogeng
Mosime was also attacked by a neighbour’s pit bull in Vista Park near Bloemfontein. Olebogeng was buried on
Friday last week.
Mangaung deputy mayor
Mapaseka Mothibi-nkoane said stricter measures needed to be implemented in order to prevent similar attacks. Mothibi-nkoane said pet owners need to be held responsible as the municipality seeks to introduce specific municipal by-laws for dog owners.
She also stated that under these municipal by-laws, dog owners in Mangaung will be required to obtain a licence, beginning in January 2023.
Calls to ban pit bull dogs have been growing stronger since the fatal mauling of Olebogeng, who was attacked by a neighbour’s dog in his home.
Rautenbach said people were misinformed about the breeding of pit bulls, adding that this has consequences for society.
“They are a hard-working breed. To own them is a big responsibility and commitment. The American pit bull terrier in its modern format was developed for one thing only, and that was dog fighting. They are a fighting breed; that is what they are,” she said.