Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated.”
On December 17, Newcastillians were horrified upon reading about how a dog had been assaulted in Ncandu Park. A woman claimed she had witnessed the animal being assaulted with a pickaxe, leaving it severely injured.
Read more: Dog assaulted in Ncandu Park, after straying to yard
While the SPCA confirmed the animal was not as badly injured as stated by the source, the dog has since been euthanised.
Since the publication of the article, residents have voiced their dismay over social media. Remarking on the attack and how the SPCA has not addressed the matter, even though it was said the assailant was well within his rights, as the dog was in his yard, killed his chickens and he felt it was a possible threat to the children on the property.
But surely beating an animal is against the law, isn’t it?
Heather Gero of the SPCA explains that while beating, assaulting and abusing an animal is against the law, the dog in question was unfortunately classified as a marauding animal. This is because he entered private property and killed chickens.
But surely the SPCA can still take steps against the assailants in question, can’t they?
The Animal Protection Act No1 of 1962 states that individuals can dispatch of vermin and marauding animals. It is this act which refrains Newcastle SPCA from taking legal steps against the assailant.
“There was no legal way we could prosecute. However, we have issued him a warning, this is so if he hurts another animal, we can take legal steps. There is also education needed, as people need to learn the correct methods of dealing with marauding animals.”
But why was the animal euthanised? Especially if the injuries were not as severe as the SPCA claimed.
Gero explained as the dog had killed another animal, it could not be released back into society.
As disheartening as Gero finds this and not being able to take the assailant to task, Gero reminds the public that the SPCA is bound by legalities that animal activists often ignore. “We are not like PETA, we have to obey the law.”
With the SPCA shedding light on the matter, what are your thoughts on the situation? Be sure to share your opinions in the comment section below.
One Response
This is absolutely pathetic!!!! We are supposed to fight for the voiceless, if this had been a rapist or a criminal he would be in jail by now we unfortunately don’t euthanize them, some of them are still roaming the street even after harming so many people. So how can the community trust the spca anymore because their new excuse to everything is “we had no choice, we had to euthanize”. Yes they are not like PETA but they can atleast fight and get themselves recognized and to the level of Peta, Peta started small and is now recognized!!!!