RUSTENBURG - Speaker of the National Assembly Thandi Modise will appear in court in Potchefstroom in October to plead to charges relating to animal cruelty at her farm.
Modise appeared in the Potchefstroom Regional Court on Monday and the case was postponed to October 30 for plea, the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) said in a statement.
"The NSPCA was approached by Advocate Gerrie Nel to take this case on a private prosecution after the National Prosecuting Authority [NPA] declined to prosecute the case.
"In July 2014, the NSPCA obtained a warrant to inspect the animals on a farm in the North West province belonging to Thandi Modise, this was after receiving a tip-off that animals on the property had been abandoned," said Marcelle Meredith, executive director of the NSPCA.
Carcasses of over 50 pigs and other dead animals, such as geese, ducks, sheep, and goats were found.
"Over 100 pigs, sheep, chickens and goats were found without food and water and the animals were found dead and dying. The animals were so desperately hungry, they were feeding off carcasses, cannibalising, and eating newborn young. It was one of the cruellest cases of animal abuse that the NSPCA had come across. These animals were denied basic minimum care and suffered neglect, and starvation."
The NSPCA also announced that Afriforum would be privately prosecuting a dairy farmer on their behalf.
"The NSPCA undertook inspections at Malati Dairy in Gravelotte, Limpopo, where they found calves being confined in single pens and unnecessarily chained in the crates. Warnings were issued to the farmer who refused to comply and charges were laid. The NPA declined to prosecute this case as well," Meredith said.
Gerrie Nel resigned from his position as a prosecutor at the NPA in January 2017, joining AfriForum with the aim of setting up a private prosecutions unit.