38 hunting dogs in care
Komani SPCA takes pack in
The SPCA in Komani opened its doors to 38 hunting dogs which were admitted as police evidence in the investigation of a case of illegal hunting in the Hofmeyr district recently.
This comes after the arrest of 16 suspected illegal hunters who allegedly killed 12 springbok at a private farm in the area, according to police spokesperson Capt Lariane Jonker, who said the suspects were due to appear in court on Tuesday.
The dogs have been in the care of the SPCA for a week and are said to be skittish around
Our top priority is the
“safety and wellbeing of our staff and the animals in our care. This, however, is very costly to the organisation.”
This week, she said, a group of six men went to the SPCA, demanding to see the dogs. people and have to be carried to their assigned kennels.
The SPCA was contacted by the Environmental Compliance and Enforcement unit, also known as the Green “Scorpions ”, after 16 men were caught allegedly poaching on farms which fall within the SPCA s area of jurisdiction.
’ According to Queenstown SPCA chairperson, Adele Reynders, they have had three occurrences of suspicious contact from members of the public expressing interest in the dogs.
Reynders said: At the first “contact we asked Red Guard Security to assist us by posting a guard at the SPCA and installing a panic button.
She said there had been Facebook posts requesting information about the dogs and there had also been a strange visit from two men who requested to view the cats at the SPCA.
“We are grateful to The Rep newspaper which agreed to wait until we had systems in place to ensure the safety of our staff and animals before printing any information about the dogs currently in our care,” Reynders said.
Upon their arrival, she said, the dogs were dehydrated, hungry and thin, but the staff had been working tirelessly to clean, feed and attend to the animals.
“It takes some time to get the condition of the dogs up. They are a lot friendlier since being in contact with staff on a daily basis.
“We have also had two vet visits to the dogs to ensure that none of them are in a critical state and that all are receiving what they need to be happy and healthy while in our care.
“We are a small SPCA with a big heart, despite our heavy financial burden due to not receiving pound fees and the monthly subsidy from Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality for the past several months.
“The committee and staff continue to do their best for the animals.”
She said any form of donations were welcomed, to provide the best care and living conditions for all animals.
Reynders added that the organisation received a request from environmental affairs in Aliwal North to house more dogs, but they were full to capacity.
She said the community ’ s support for the SPCA, as well as Agri EC ’ s help with food donations for the dogs, was greatly appreciated.
“We are confident that an agreement will be made between all stakeholders after the conclusion of this [illegal hunting] case, on a way forward and how to deal with future cases like this.”