THE Cape of Good Hope SPCA says they had nothing to celebrate this new year, after another nightmare New Year’s Eve for animals.
The animal welfare organisation was inundated with calls throughout Oujaarsaand and into the early hours of 2025 of animals in distress and injuries due to the devastating impact of fireworks.
SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham said that due to Cape Town’s quietest Guy Fawkes on record last November, they were hopeful that humane celebrations were becoming the norm.
But that was not the case as they collected a klomp confused and scared stray animals from Mitchells Plain, Kuils River and Scarborough, as non-stop calls came in throughout the day.
Abraham said that the night was everything but a cause for celebration as calls included a dog who ran into a home in Tafelsig and wedged himself under a family’s bathtub in sheer panic.
In Pelican Park, a bang brakkie tried to jump through a closed glass window to escape the noise.
And in Bonteheuwel, a puppy died of a head wound and a piglet was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Blue Downs to name a few.
Abraham says: “Our team’s hearts broke as we fielded call after call regarding frightened, injured, and displaced animals.”
“No fleeting moment of excitement is worth the immense suffering caused to animals.
“They deserve our protection, not to be the collateral damage of reckless human celebrations.
“It’s time to choose compassion over cruelty and find ways to celebrate that don’t leave a trail of devastation in their wake.
“The effects of fireworks and reckless celebrations don’t end when the noise stops.
“Terrified animals can travel far from home and may have hidden in tight spaces, unable to free themselves.”
Bonteheuwal ward councillor Angus Mckenzie said that they were quick to identify where fireworks were being sold and who was buying and skieting klappertjies thanks to the community through their street Whatsapp groups.
McKenzie adds: “We were able to provide police, Law Enforcement and Metro Police the exact information of where the fireworks are being sold, who bought it and on the night who was setting them off so that really placed a damper on the use of fireworks on New Year’s Eve.”