CAPE of Good Hope SPCA together with the City of Cape Town’s Animal Control Unit Auxiliary Officers intervened in two cases of cruelty involving the illegal transport of sheep for traditional purposes on Sunday morning in Philippi Farms.
Chief inspector Jaco Pieterse from the Cape of Good Hope SPCA said inspectors were patrolling the area when they came across sheep intended for “religious” and “cultural slaughter.
He reports: “Inspectors found one trailer ‘dangerously’ overloaded with seven sheep, their legs tightly bound, piled on top of one another. While another trailer carried four sheep, also with legs bound, one with a severe, burst, and infected eye injury.
“The stench was overwhelming. Both trailers were in direct violation of the Animals Protection Act, and one driver who was unlicensed, along with the trailer, was fined by Law Enforcement.
“The sheep were seized by our Inspectors and are now in the safe care of the Cape of Good Hope SPCA.
“All of the animals were destined for religious slaughter, but cruelty is never justified, no matter the context."
Asked if the sheep were intended for Qurbani (for Eid al-Adha), Pieterse confirmed that one case was and the other instance was for cultural slaughtering.
He adds: “One of the sheep had to be humanely destroyed because his condition was of such a state that medical intervention was not viable.
“The rest of the sheep were in acceptable condition, however, the concerns do not relate to their conditions per se but rather the inhumane transportation.”
He said that the owners were fined but not for animal cruelty.
Pieterse adds: “These matters must go to court, where a magistrate will decide on the outcome. A fine could be imposed up to R40 000 and/or 12 months imprisonment.”
The SPCA said that transporting animals must comply with the SANS 1488:2014 “Humane Transportation of Livestock by Road”, which requires no overloading of trailers, vehicles suitable for the species and no tethering of animals, to name a few.