SPCA confiscates animals from hoarding house
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has confiscated several animals from a house in Fish Hoek after obtaining a court order from the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court.
Chief inspector Jaco Pieterse said the animals at the heavily cluttered property were kept in “filthy, parasitic conditions” with no fresh water.
The man, whose name is known to the Echo, is facing existing charges of animal cruelty from 2020 which are being heard in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court.
Inspector Pieterse said the man’s animals had been confiscated in December 2019. He had been living in Bergvliet at the time.
He has yet to be charged in connection with latest incident.
Inspector Pieterse and officers from the City’s Law Enforcement Animal Control Unit and a private veterinarian accompanied inspector Jeffrey Mfini, who had obtained the court order, to the house on Monday February 7.
According to Inspector Pieterse, they contacted the owner to open the gate, but he ignored them and “hastily attempted to tend to the animals” before they entered.
“We had to lift the gate to gain access to the property,” Inspector Pieterse said.
There was a “strong putrid” smell, the animals were infested with fleas, the food was rotten and dumped on the floor for the animals to eat and they had no fresh water, he said.
The veterinarian, who specialises in exotic birds, had been shocked by the living conditions of a macaw and the other animals found on the property, Inspector Pieterse said.
The animals’ removal from the property, under the Animals Protection Act, had been in their best interest, he said.
“The animals are now safely in the care of the SPCA and the macaw is receiving emergency treatment due to its poor condition.
“The animals confiscated in Fish Hoek were found in the same dirty and parasitic conditions, and a case of animal cruelty will be opened against the owner at the Fish Hoek SAPS in terms of the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 and the Animal Keeping By-Law.”
Inspector Pieterse said the owner of the house had also been given a letter from the Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s legal representative warning him not to take any animal into his care pending the outcome of the two cases.
Should he fail to comply, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA would approach the Cape Town High Court with an urgent application for an interdict to prevent him from doing so.
Law Enforcement spokesman Wayne Dyason confirmed that officers from the Animal Control Unit had accompanied inspectors from the Cape of Good Hope SPCA, and he referred the Echo to the SPCA for any further comment.
