Young woman gets attacked by a pitbull in Elsburg
"If the owner of the animal does not want to voluntarily surrender their animal to the SPCA, the SPCA cannot take any action. We would have no grounds to remove the animal."
A young woman was attacked by a pit bull in Elsburg on October 7.
The woman’s mother, Samantha Smith, is now worried for her safety.
She said her daughter is a tenant and the dog belongs to the owner. Her daughter had to be taken to hospital to get stitches.
“She is terrified after what happened and she is even scared to go back to her place. She is staying with me,” said Smith.
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She said her daughter had to go back to the hospital last week Wednesday after her wounds got septic.
“She had to undergo an operation and we can’t even afford the cost. The owner is not taking responsibility,” said Smith.
“A case was opened with Elsburg Police Station and the SPCA also visited the owner. As far as we know the owner was not willing to give up the dog.”
Smith said she does not understand why the dog was not removed.
“This dog is vicious and this is not the first incident of someone getting attacked with no action from the SPCA,” said Smith.
Germiston and Bedford view SPCA management committee member Jacques Peacock said the SPCA was called out to the property.
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“One should remain mindful that the SPCA is only mandated to deal with cruelty to animals. Animals may be confiscated due to alleged cruelty via a warrant from a magistrate.
“If no cruelty to the animal is apparent or the owner of the animal does not want to voluntarily surrender the animal to the SPCA, the SPCA cannot take any action. We had no grounds to remove the animal,” explained Peacock.
He said they can only take action when the court has issued an order.
“The responsibility lies with the victim of the attack to open a case with the SAPS. When the matter gets to court, the prosecutor can request the magistrate to issue an order to remove the animal.
“The victim is the only person who can take action in this regard – we cannot just remove an animal,” said Peacock.
“The law does not provide the authority to remove a dog in terms of the Animals Protection Act because it is vicious as it deals with cruelty to animals.”
“EMPD has the authority to remove a vicious or dangerous animal without the matter going to court first.
The court will then decide whether the owner can have the animal back or not,” said Peacock.
