DURBAN - AN AMANZIMTOTI pastor has been criticised for a Facebook post boasting that his dogs killed three vervet monkeys, which were disturbing his peace.
Fanie Hennop wrote: “Today is a day like the Olympic opening ceremony for me. We have had a tribe of monkeys terrorising our dogs for months.
“Two days ago, one of these velvet (sic) barbarians, while teasing the four daschunds, accidentally fell from the gutter.
“Needless to say it was a massacre. As luck would have it two friends tried to save the unlucky fellow. We buried the remains of all three of the velvet (sic) offenders.
Hennop wrote that his four dachshunds were rewarded with lean mince and a huge bone each.
He wrote that since the incident, “I have not had one avocado stolen, one apple thieved from my house or one pot of food vandalised.
“Three days of absolute blissful silence. I have now redesigned all my gutter brackets to fail when carrying excess weight.”
“You should see the excitement of the four daschunds.”
KZN Monkey Helpline spokesperson Steve Smit reacted with outrage. On Wednesday, Smit said he was trying to get a profile of Hennop and his location so that the SPCA could intervene. According to Linkedin, Hennop is an associate pastor at the Amanzimtoti Gemeenskapskerk.
Smit said Hennop set the worst kind of example of who and what a true pastor should be.
“Your gloating account of the brutal killing of three monkeys by your pack of dogs and your spiteful intention to engineer further such brutal killings by, and rewards for, your pack of Dachshunds is despicable. Is this the same pack of Dachshunds you whine about being emotionally traumatised by these ‘velvet(sic) barbarians’?”
Smit said encouraging dogs to attack other animals is an offence under the Animal Protection Act with heavy fines and jail time.
“But if all else fails and there really is a God in Heaven, then you, Pastor Fanie Hennop, are heading for some serious s…!
In a statement from the church, Pastor Peet Roode said he was and is the only pastor at Amanzimtoti Community Church.
“Following the numerous messages I received regarding a Facebook post by Fanie Hennop, one of our council members...the posting is not my opinion and neither is that of the board of directors.
“We as a society distance ourselves from all forms of cruelty against people and animals and will never speak violence or cruelty.”
Roode said the Board of Directors had a serious conversation with Fanie in which they expressed their disappointment about the insensitivity of the posting.
“We as a congregation would like to sincerely apologize for the hurt and anger that the posting caused and we decided during a meeting this afternoon that the leadership will walk a path of mentorship with Fanie.”
Roode said they also received an unqualified apology from Fanie Hennop and the company to offer sincere and broad apology for the thoughtless and insensitive posting.
“This is and remains our congregation's desire and prayer to be in the service of the Kingdom of God within our community.”
Daily News