NIGEL – An illegal dog fighting syndicate consisting of 17 males and one female appeared in the Nigel Magistrate's Court on August 19. SAPS Tsakane reacted to a tip-off by a member of the public and arrested the 17 accused during October 2013.
The accused first appeared in the Tskane Magistrate's Court in November 2013. The case was then postponed to August 18, 2014. On August 19 the case was further postponed to 20 October awaiting high-tech 360-degree camera footage from SAPS Tskane of the area where the alleged crime took place. The judge dismissed the defense's application in court of an in loco visit to the scene of the crime by the state, defense and the judge himself. "I would like to make use of this new gadgetry that the police has to offer, I don't see why an in loco visit is necessary", said the judge.
Defense argued that the accused were subjected to racist remarks. It was revealed in court by the defense that police used racist language such as "K****** and coloureds are not allowed to own pitbulls." The arresting officer denied this. "None of us used language such as this", said the police official.
Jane Richman and others of the BWT (Beauty Without Cruelty) and BAT (Ban Animal Cruelty) organisations gathered outside the Nigel Magistrate's Court and a tense situation erupted when 18 accused persons left court. Richman and the accused got into a heated argument outisde court. "You are just f****n racists", shouted one of the accused outside court.
"We feel that they are using these dogs as commodities. They are dumped like rubbish when they don't perform well. Above all, dog fighting is illegal and cruel. Children witnessed these fights, what lessons are they being teached?", said Richman.
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