Five-year probation for dog killer
Activists pleased after Calitzdorp man handed R2 000 fine and five-year probation for killing dog.
|||Cape Town - A man has been sentenced to five years probation and fined R2 000 fine for killing a four-year-old dog in Calitzdorp.
Dee Hazel from the Karoo Animal Protection said she and many other animal activists felt the sentencing was well-deserved.
“We feel that it was a heavy sentence and it is great vindication for dog activists. We are very happy about the outcome because at times there are no repercussions for animal killers.”
The man was found guilty of malicious damage to property and animal cruelty.
If he commits any other crime, he will spend up to 18 months in jail.
Last month, a video emerged of a group of children, some as young as seven, taking delight in torturing and then stoning a dog to death.
Several of the children gleefully said “you are going to die - to die” repeatedly before beginning a drawn out seven-minute assault on the stray dog which was kicked and hung from a tree before being pelted with rocks and chunks of concrete.
Cape of Good Hope SPCA inspectors identified the children and criminal charges of animal cruelty were laid.
Tara McGovern, the spokeswoman for the SPCA, said the incident took place at a vlei in Manenberg off Vygieskraal Road.
In the video eight children, aged between seven and 17 were seen dragging a dog by a rope around his neck to a secluded area.
They were accompanied by a pitbull which they tried to set on the stray dog while at the same time repeatedly kicking it.
The pitbull attacked a few times but when she was unable to kill the stray, they hanged it from a tree before taking it down and hurling rocks and concrete at the terrified cross-breed.
Cape Argus