Durban – An eight-year-old boy was rushed to a medical facility for treatment by the owner of a brown Staffordshire Terrier after the dog escaped through the driveway gate and attacked him while he played soccer on Chain Street in the Coniston area near Verulam on Friday.
Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) received a call for assistance at approximately 4.27pm.
“On arrival, it was established that two boys were playing soccer on the road when the Staffordshire Terrier charged at one of them after its owner opened the driveway gate,” said Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram.
According to Balram, the boy fell when he was bitten on his right arm.
He said the dog retreated after the residents screamed for assistance.
“The child was treated for his injuries on scene before being transported to a medical facility by the owner of the dog,” he said.
This comes after several people, mostly children were killed in recent months in pit bull attacks across the country
A controversial “Ban pit bulls as domestic pets in South Africa” petition has garnered more than 130 000 signatures.
In October, the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation, a non-profit organisation, that advocates for vulnerable children, called for the immediate ban of pit bulls following an attack which resulted in the death of a 10-year-old in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The foundation said it started the petition calling for the ban of put bulls as a way of trying to protect people’s lives, particularly children.
According to the foundation, the petition will be handed over to Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza as soon as her office gives it a date.