Illegal hunters endanger children in Linmeyer
An illegal hunting spree could endanger the lives of little children who go to enjoy themselves at a public pool.
LINMEYER – An illegal ‘shortcut’ into the Southern Suburbs pool through a row of open holes in the fence at the Linmeyer Koppie is feared to be a death trap.
Concerned residents suspect vagrants to be the illegal hunters who have cut a series of holes in the Southern Suburbs pool’s back area to place a number of animal traps where small wild animals such as dassies, guinea fowl and birds are located on the koppie.
A group of Linmeyer residents organised themselves into a team on January 18 and set out to remove all the animal traps that not only pose a great danger to the wild animals that they have grown to love and consider a vital part of their community, but also the children who have been using the free entrance into the pool area.
The open holes in the fence are also serving as an open invitation to children as young as nine years old into the pool without the bother of having to pay the entry fee, says Moffatview CPF, Don Hooper and Linmeyer resident Rene.
They found traps that could have left an unlucky child seriously injured if they were to be caught in it. The loud, pained cries of an injured dog caught in one of the traps was what led Linmeyer resident Rene to find out about the existence of the danger in the area, where unaware children could easily wander off to.
CPF officer, Don Hooper added that not so long ago, as many as 20 youngsters were found trying to slip into the pool area one evening, with complete disregard to the fact that there were no life guards on duty.
Although the children do not only utilise the illegal entries into the pool when it’s closed, their safety is still a matter of major concern, as there are not enough life guards at the Southern Suburbs pool to cater for all the children who paid and those who entered illegally.
The fee was supposed to help monitor and limit the number of children inside the pool area, but with the additional number of lives to care for, Don and Rene fear that one child will one day slip through the cracks and end up losing his/her life.
“We just want to make parents and the children aware of the danger the children face when they enter the pool through these holes. We’ve tried to close a lot of them, but we always find more,” said Rene.
The CHRONICLE is still investigating the measures that have been taken by the Southern Suburbs pool management.
