18 dogs put down after toddler mauled
2011-06-29 22:17
Cape Town - Eighteen dogs were put down by the Cape of Good Hope SPCA on Tuesday, following the death on a 3-year-old boy in Sweet Home Farm informal settlement near Nyanga.
The SPCA managed to persuade angry residents to surrender their dogs to the organisation instead of killing the animals themselves.
So far 57 dogs have been admitted to the group’s mobile units.
Unfortunately, it was too late for three little puppies, whose owners put them on a railway line. The SPCA managed to save two others.
“Those dogs that were put down yesterday [on Tuesday] were not the ones involved in the attack, these are dogs that were surrendered by their owners who requested that they be put down,” said Lamees Martin from the SPCA.
“The community is outraged by what happened and many people have come forward to give up their dogs.”
“The residents were all shouting ‘no dogs’ and some [were] holding up placards that read ‘no more dogs in Sweet Home Farm’,” said Martin.
It is alleged that seven dogs killed the little boy. The dogs all belonged to one man, who was not present at the time of the incident. The dogs were apparently chased out of the area by angry residents.
The SPCA has reportedly been scouring the area since the incident occurred and is trying to locate the dogs. They have only managed to capture one of the dogs involved.
Allan Perrins, CEO of the SPCA in Cape Town, said that dogs in informal settlements lack love and affection from humans around them.
“Many township dogs lack affection and often there is no mutual respect, forcing them to lead a feral existence. This is when their instincts as a predator manifest itself. Unsupervised children are most vulnerable and prone to being attacked due to their naivety and inquisitiveness,” said Perrins.
Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut stated that an inquest docket was opened and the case is being investigated.
