Fowl sights left on our beaches
Durban resident outraged to find animal remains from a religious ritual on the seashore
IT’S not the kind of sea creature you expect to find on the shore, so when Durban resident Sally Scott was walking along the beachfront last Sunday, she was outraged.
Scott saw two headless roosters, the intestines of a sheep, and dozens of candles that had been left behind after a religious ritual.
While she said she was not against people practising their religious and cultural beliefs, she said they should be made to clean up after themselves.
“I was walking along North Beach last week Sunday at 11.30am when I noticed a thick line of rubbish which seemed to go on forever.
“Also lying on the beach were two headless roosters and the intestines of a sheep, I think. Dozens of used candles also dotted the shoreline.
“It was the aftermath of some ceremony where the perpetrators couldn’t be bothered to clean up after themselves.
“Leaving the beach like this is in no one’s culture,” she said.
“It’s about manners and being considerate of others. No one should have to pick up after you.”
Scott sent her complaint to City Watch, as well as directly to the city’s communications unit.
Avrille Coen, proportional representative councillor for the beachfront, said unauthorised cultural practices on the beachfront were an ongoing problem.
“People are on the beachfront from around 3am slaughtering fowl in the water. Yes, there is a policy governing what is acceptable and what is not, but most people aren’t aware that you need permission to perform a ritual on the beachfront. There is no education on the ground, and this needs to change,” she said.
eThekwini’s head of communications, Tozi Mthethwa, responded to queries sent to City Watch on the issue. This response was also forwarded to Scott by the city.
Mthethwa said the municipality wished to clarify that the by-laws stated that in terms of the Durban seashore regulations, which are part of the Sea-Shore Act, any animal, except a dog, in a person’s charge is not allowed to enter or remain on the seashore or in the sea without permission from the manager of bathing amenities. The manager would impose conditions.
She said that, in principle, the city did not object to people performing spiritual or religious rituals on public beaches, provided permission had been granted and the rituals were carried out in an acceptable manner.
“While the municipality receives complaints from members of the public regarding rituals performed on beaches, complaints are mainly about the slaughter of animals.
“We have law-enforcement officers patrolling our beaches on a regular basis. Should the public encounter any unlawful practices, they (law enforcement) will either warn or prosecute the offender/s.
“Should there be items that are left on the beaches after a prayer, our staff are requested to clean up. Our beaches are cleaned on a daily basis, and all litter that is collected is disposed of.”
She said most of the items thrown into the water (during the prayers) are washed back on to the shore. This matter is collected by staff during routine clean-up operations.
“The number of items that are thrown into the water is minimal in comparison with the volume of the sea. We have not observed any negative impact on marine life on our beaches that have been caused by the disposal of prayer goods into the water,” Mthethwa said.
She said anyone wishing to perform a ritual on a public beaches had to get permission from the municipality’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Unit by e-mailing the unit’s deputy head at christo.swart@durban.gov.za, who will arrange for law-enforcement officers to patrol the area to ensure the place remained incident-free.
“We encourage the prospective person to clean and remove all items that were used to perform the ritual from our beaches,” she added.
Scott was unhappy with the response. She said the municipality was “encouraging” people to clean up after themselves when there should be a fine or penalty imposed if they did not.
“The beach is not cleaned every day. I saw the rubbish and the sheep remains on the beach on Tuesday – two days after I reported the matter.
“And saying the amount of waste thrown into the ocean is minimal compared with the size of the ocean?
“As far as I’m concerned, one item thrown into the sea is one too many.
“The capacity of the sea is not infinite, and our Indian Ocean is a wonderful asset that should be cared for.
“Asking people to clean up after themselves is not a big ask, is it?”