Cape Town – A man who has been accused of torturing a seal pup near Velddrif on the West Coast pleaded guilty in the Laaiplek Magistrate's Court on Monday.
Marius Tredoux faced a number of charges under the biodiversity and the animal protection acts, which protects threatened marine species, the SABC reported.
Tredoux beat and stabbed a seal pup while filming the attack on a fishing boat. The video went viral‚ outraging people all over the globe.
The case against his co-accused, Rynard van den Heever, was thrown out due to a lack of evidence.
Swartland and West Coast SPCA chairperson Collette Mang said they had opened a case of animal cruelty after seeing the video of the incident.
“We were made aware of this video that was taken of a seal pup being beaten and we opened a case of cruelty against Marius Tredoux and Rynard van den Heever. We are fairly happy with the outcome.
"Sentencing will be on the 7th of August and that's when we'll see what kind of sentencing they'll have,” said Mang.
PHOTO: Swartland and West Coast SPCA