1 980 dog attacks in 22 months

2002-12-11 13:13

Cape Town - A total of 1 980 dog attacks were reported to police between January and October this year, said Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula on Wednesday.

In written reply to a question by Johnny Schippers (NNP) in the National Assembly, he said that if ownership of the dog could be established, the owner was held responsible for the attack.

Legal steps - criminal or civil - were taken against the owners in 242 of the reported incidents.

This resulted in medical expenses being paid by the owner to the "victim". An admission of guilt fine was paid, the owner was fined by the court, or the matter was settled by the parties involved, he said.

A total of 1 136 of the incidents was still under investigation or pending before prosecuting authorities.

In the remaining 602 cases, no legal steps were taken.

Nqakula said the reasons for this included false complaints, cases being withdrawn by the complainants and, in about 430 instances, the prosecuting authority withdrawing or declining to prosecute.

- SAPA