A 25-year-old man, who was caught for illegal hunting outside Serengeti, apparently ate one of the rabbits caught by his hunting dogs.
Siyabulela Gwebu and his dogs were apprehended on April 4 outside the southern perimeter wall of Serengeti Estate.
He was hunting with seven dogs and at the time of his arrest they had already caught four rabbits. He briefly appeared in Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on April 5.
Also read:
• Ex-breeder fined for repeatedly stomping on rabbit’s head
• Man sentenced to three years behind bars for animal cruelty
• Missing pitbull found caged in Tembisa
According to Kempton Park SAPS spokesman, Capt Jethro Mtshali, the case had been postponed until May 5 pending further investigation.
Serengeti Property Owners Association (SPOA) confirmed that the man was caught in possession of the rabbits. The case had been brought against him in conjunction with the Department of Nature Conservation in Gauteng.
Three of the rabbits are being kept in a cold room at the request of the department.
“One of the residents informed us there was a man outside the perimeter wall with what looked like hunting dogs. We contacted the SPCA and they advised us to phone the police as well,” said Rudy de Vente, eco infrastructure manager of the SPOA.
“We support nature conservation and the presence of wildlife in our world is a treasure. Wildlife is increasingly threatened and we believe that our responsibilities towards conservation should not be limited to the boundaries of the estate.”
The hunting dogs, two of which are thoroughbred greyhounds, were caught by SPCA field officer, William Mzimba.
“The dogs are all doing fine. They all gained weight and will be put up for adoption soon,” said the manager of Kempton SPCA, Jan du Toit.
“We would like to thank Jan and the SPCA team for their prompt response and help during the incident. We wouldn’t have been able to secure the dogs’ safety without them,” said De Vente.
“William did a very professional job to capture the dogs.”
