A George man has been found guilty of animal cruelty after he hanged his two dogs in the bush.
Msokoli Muteni, 60, of Zone 9, Thembalethu, was arrested last week after a neighbour contacted police, said Captain Malcolm Pojie.
“His defence was that the dogs ate his chickens. He was fined R1 500 or three months’ imprisonment on Monday,” Pojie said
The George SPCA said a witness saw Muteni dragging his two dogs into the bush on ropes.
“He went to investigate and found the dogs hanging from two trees,” said the SPCA’s senior inspector, Salome Botha. Both were already dead.
“It was a shocking scene,” said Botha.
She said animal cruelty and neglect had become a serious problem in the area.
“The sentence imposed on the man is just ridiculous. His excuse for killing his two dogs because they killed his chickens is unacceptable. The punishment just does not fit the crime.”
She said the man claimed he was not aware that it was a crime to kill his dogs.
Manager of the Garden Route SPCA, Frieda Jansen Van Rensburg, also lashed out at the sentence. “Our inspectors needed counselling after attending the scene. It is shocking and absurd that the accused got away with a R1 500 fine,” she said. - Weekend Argus