Dogs 'savaging' game and sheep

2006-09-13 09:29

Mariska Spoormaker

Dordrecht - Stray dogs from squatter camps and government building projects form packs that are savaging game and stock over a wide area in the northeastern parts of the Eastern Cape.

Even the State forests surrounding Kokstad and along the Wild Coast are being stripped, but in this instance along with hunters, who are armed with from shotguns to machine guns.

Meanwhile so-called taxi-hunting has also hit the Eastern Cape, where it is occurring at an increasing rate.

This practice involves putting well-trained greyhounds into a taxi, driving to a certain area and then putting money on which dog will be first to bring down an animal. It apparently originated in KwaZulu-Natal.

Maul anything that moves

In the Sterkstroom district around Dordrecht, the packs of stray dogs that target sheep, have become such a big problem that the farming association has called on municipalities to enforce the law on dog licences.

On the farm Klipkraal, 21 sheep were savaged at the beginning of September, on Lion's Hill 39 and on the farm Carlton 41.

"Those dogs catch and maul anything that moves in the veld," said Nico Smuts, who has lost 43 sheep in this cruel manner.

Around Queenstown the dogs and stock thieves have davastated stock to such an extent that there are no stockfarmers within a radius of 30km from town.

"The problem has increased since squatter camps have gone up like mushrooms and hundreds of homes have been built around small towns by the government. The people don't have food, and neither have their dogs," said Smuts.

From a young age children take the dogs to the veld to hunt for small game and antelope. Smuts was of the opinion that many of these dogs remained behind to form their own packs, especially when the bitches were in heat.

George Moorcroft, chairperson of the Sterkstroom farmer's association, witnessed four dogs attacking a Jersey calf.

Hunting with dogs has also become a favourite sport for young and old alike, even though it is illegal, said Div de Villiers, deputy director provincial environmental affairs in the northeastern parts of the province.

At the weekend hunters with more than 200 dogs had to be removed from nature conservation land near Harding.

Laying a charge with the police about the mauling of game or illegal hunting with dogs also had no effect, said Jacques Naude from a company that provided security services to farmers.

- Die Burger