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Police dogs 'being starved'
14/02/2007 23:24 - (SA)
Leon-Ben Lamprecht, Die Burger
Cape Town - Police dogs at Maitland dog unit are said to be suffering from severe malnutrition, so much so that some are eating their own faeces because of a vitamin deficiency.
There also have been cases in which the dogs have sniffed out people's food rather than drugs or explosives, showing signs of severe hunger pangs.
Natasha Duminy of the South African Police Union (Sapu) spoke to Die Burger about the state of affairs at the dog unit.
Duminy feels the situation can badly affect service delivery.
"What if there is a bomb threat? The dog smells food and goes there, because it's hungry and wants to eat." "The animals are suffering. The police officers are upset. They're like their partners. They are their partners."
Daily ration was reduced
Some dogs appear badly underfed and there are dogs that have lost up to 3kg in weight.
Duminy says the daily intake of the dogs has been reduced from 700g of dry pellets, to 500g. She speculated that the reason was possibly financial.
Duminy has supplied correspondence between the unit and the provincial police office to Die Burger.
A report compiled by Sapu refers to dogs that are eating their own excrement, as well as dogs that sniff out food rather than drugs or explosives.
The report claims the matter has been dragging on for years and that the provincial office should intervene.
Duminy said officials had brought food for the dogs from home, but they were later forbidden to do so.
Die Burger was shown photos of a dog that looked visibly wasted, but the photo cannot be used because it might lead to the identification of that dog's handler, who might be victimised or intimidated.
A vet, Lieutenant-Colonel F N Sarkady, found that four dogs showed signs of emaciation and that various other dogs had lost up to 3kg in weight.
Cher Poznanovich of the Society for the Prevention Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said there were some sore points.
"Look, there is a problem, and we are talking to the provincial office to try and improve the situation."
The SPCA had sent letters to the provincial office with suggestions that might improve the situation.
Prescribed amount of food
Police spokesperson Billy Jones said the diet supplied to the dogs was in accordance with the written specifications of the official police veterinary surgeon.
He said there was a prescribed amount of food for every dog and the situation continuously re-evaluated. "At this stage, we're not going to comment on the allegations, but the officers commanding the dog unit have confirmed that there is no malnutrition among the dogs." He said it was the unit's own initiative to involve an external vet and the SPCA.
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