Dealer didn't play the game
2003-10-02 22:00
Cecile Greyling
Port Elizabeth - A prominent game dealer of the Eastern Cape may face a criminal charge under the Animal Protection Act after a giraffe died on the way from Hoedspruit in Limpopo to Port Elizabeth.
Marizda Kruger of the SPCA said the organisation filed a charge after a truck, carrying six giraffes, broke down and the animals had to spend four to eight hours in the sun while the truck was being fixed.
She said the temperature inside the trailer was as much as 31° Celsius.
When it became clear that the truck could not be repaired, another truck, which wasn't roadworthy, was called in to transport the giraffes.
Kruger said this truck spilled diesel over the cabin into the giraffes' trailer.
One of the animals was already dead when the vehicle was impounded at a weighbridge outside Kroonstad.
The cause of death was shock, blindness and dehydration. The other giraffes were released at a nearby game reserve.
- Die Burger