Cape Town - Dog-fighting is nothing new in Cape Town, or in South Africa for that matter, but this boggles the mind.
Professional gamblers and dogfighters have literally gone mobile – to make it harder for the police to catch them.
Some are now holding their fight-to-the-death “contests” in the back of moving vans, called “trunking” – while driving around their neighbourhoods taking bets and with music blaring so no one can hear the dogs fighting.
The loser of the fight is simply tossed out and left to die, if it even survives the fight.
Take Hope, for example, a beautiful staffie/pitbull cross who was muzzled and used as bait to make two other dogs fight to the death in a hopeless and dead-end situation in the back of a van.
Hope was found, on the brink of death, lying outside the Animal Welfare Society in Philippi.
They believe one of the bystanders took pity on Hope and gave her the slimmest of chances of survival. She was riddled with sceptacaemia and the flesh was literally pulled from her bones.
She has now recovered but is still traumatised.
She is in training to be socialised and desperately needs a home, but it shouldn’t be with other animals at this point.
Este Kotze, deputy chief executive of the NSPCA, said: “Dog fights are not the work of a single lawbreaker but instead constitute a form of organised crime. It is a multimillion-rand industry with an intricate underground web, ranging from impromptu events in a back alley with stolen dogs to a carefully planned and organised enterprise held in a location specially designed and maintained for the purpose.”
The people taking part in dog-fighting are well aware they are engaged in illegal activities so they create a fraternity type of atmosphere, instilling a fear of retaliation to discourage informants and create a double life image through involvement in legitimate dog sport activities, Kotze said.
“The secrecy is at the highest level, so we need to appeal to the public to keep us informed on possible dog fighting rings,” said Kotze. “Our investigations leading up to a potential bust are completely confidential, so although the public may not be aware of what is happening… we are constantly on the trail of suspected dog fighters.
“Breaking a dog-fighting syndicate can quickly drain financial and personnel resources.
“The public continues to ask what they can do. Helping to fund these investigations is how our supporters can help stop dog-fighting. Without this support we may not be able to continue this type of work.”
According to Jaque le Roux, who is trying to bring an end to this horrific animal abuse, South Africa has a thriving and increasing industry of underground animal fighting activities, and the country is being marketed abroad as a good place to fight dogs as enforcement is lax. It was easy to bribe public officials and, if caught, the legal process was slow, he said.
Provincial SAPS spokesperson André Traut said the police’s hands were tied if no one reported them for investigation. He requested the public to report such incidents at 021 467 8410 or 08600 10111, with anonymity guaranteed.
Cape Times