Animal rescuers can play a role

Sometimes, especially to those concerned about animal welfare, it can seem like the law really is an ass: immoveable and stubborn. So it seems, at first glance, to be the case with Rassie and Jenny Erasmus of Meyerton, who saw their beloved young lion, Chaka, whipped away from them by government officials who said they didn’t have a permit to keep the animal.

They argue that they bought the lion last year from a “muti” trader to save it from being butchered for its body parts, a gruesome process which appears to be on the rise.

They say they have rescued a number of other abused and threatened animals, including tigers and wolves.

The counter argument is that keeping large, and dangerous, animals on a domestic property could threaten the safety of the couple themselves, as well as others.

We think an accommodation can be reached, whereby people like them can be licensed as animal shelters and can keep alive those animals threatened by the muti trade particularly. If this happens, such places must be subject to strict controls and monitoring.

With all the abuse of animals taking place, we should not be trying to discourage people from helping or making them criminals for doing so.