Cape Town - A man has been arrested and is expected to appear in court after he allegedly assaulted inspectors from animal welfare organisation, Cape of Good Hope (CoGH) SPCA, when they confiscated two malnourished dogs from him.
According to a statement by the CoGH SPCA, they received several calls on Monday about a man who had been walking the severely underweight dogs in the Lakeside vicinity, near Muizenberg.
“According to the complainants, the dogs were not in good condition and required urgent intervention. The complainants offered assistance to the man, but he refused their offer of help. The complainants followed the suspect until the SPCA arrived.
“Cadet inspector, Eugene Links was the first on the scene. When Links approached the suspect to discuss the complaint and to inspect the dogs, the suspect became aggressive and hostile. The suspect refused to comply and fled the scene, running with the dogs in an attempt to get away from Links. Links was hot on his heels and managed to follow him until backup arrived. The man ran all the way from Lakeside with the dogs and was finally apprehended in Retreat,” the SPCA said.
Shortly after the arrival of Werner Taljaard, another inspector, things took a turn for the worse, said the SPCA.
“When Taljaard approached the suspect, the suspect reacted with hostile aggression. He pushed Taljaard several times and attempted to physically assault him. When Taljaard backed off, the suspect incited his dogs to attack the inspectors. The two dogs attacked Links, biting him on his arm. The suspect then physically attacked and assaulted Taljaard who then had no other option but to defend himself by spraying the suspect with pepper spray.
“Fortunately, Taljaard was able to restrain the suspect and arrested him. The suspect was taken to the Steenberg South African Police Service (SAPS) where he was formally charged and detained on charges of obstruction and assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Both the dogs were confiscated and are now in the safety of the Cape of Good Hope SPCA,” said the SPCA.
The public is encouraged to report any matters of animal cruelty to the SPCA by calling 021 700 4158/9 during office hours and 083 326 1604 after hours, or by sending an email to [email protected]
Cape Times