Cape Town - The National Council of SPCA (NSPCA) has confirmed it laid charges against four mohair farmers in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape following a video exposing alleged abuse.
The video was made by animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).
The footage showed goats being dragged by their horns and legs a man kneeling on a goat’s neck goats being lifted by their tails and thrown across the floor, said the NPSCA.
The organisation said shearers can be seen inflicting wounds on the goats and crudely stitching the animals up on the shearing floor without providing any pain relief or anaesthesia.
Senior inspector Grace de Lange, manager of the NSPCA Farm Animal Protection Units, said: “The graphic footage that we received was shocking. The agony and distress that these animals endured was both horrendous and unacceptable.
“The NSPCA will relentlessly pursue justice for the animals that have suffered so tremendously.”
Peta said its investigation was the first of its kind and covered 12 farms across South Africa in January and February.
This resulted in nearly 300 major fashion retailers worldwide pledging to stop selling mohair products by next year, and the call for more retailers to follow.
The mohair industry in South Africa is the source of more than 50% of the world’s mohair.
The South African mohair industry slammed the claims as a “gross misrepresentation”.
Mohair South Africa said it would study the charge sheets, and offer assistance to the NSPCA, if and where needed.
“Once we have more details we will be able to follow up with the NSPCA, and with the farmers implicated. We are obviously against animal abuse and it’s the NSPCA’s mandate to follow these up. So, we will give our fullest cooperation where needed.”
Mohair SA managing director Deon Saayman said: “While much of the report and accompanying footage are factually incorrect and a gross misrepresentation of the SA mohair industry, some isolated issues have been raised and we have launched an investigation to address these issues directly and swiftly.”