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Dennesig resident tormented after her cat was shot with a pellet gun

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Some say it was Gandhi, others Humphrey.

May 15, 2019

Sjani Campher 2 minutes read

Either which way, the words remain impactful.

It makes me wonder what Desré Powell thinks of society when she arrived home to find that someone had shot her cat.

Ms Powell, who resides in Dennesig, wants to make an appeal to the public against cruelty to animals after she has watched many of her own animals either go missing, or return home with injuries.

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As she sits in the editorial offices of www.mobserver.co.za, she tries to hold back her tears.
She says she can’t point fingers or lay any charges, but she has her suspicions.

Desré was away for three weeks and had left her husband behind to tend to their animals. In her absence, someone had shot their cat with a pellet gun.

She explains how her husband sent her a photo of the cat after the shooting. He had rushed the pet to the Kanonkop Veterinary Clinic, with money they did not have, only to watch the cat succumb to its wounds. The vet had removed two pellets.

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“I don’t want to lay any charges or open any cases. There’s an Almighty who sees everything. I just want you to write in the paper that people must stop being cruel to animals.”

www.mobserver.co.za spoke to Senior Inspector Petro Oberholzer from the SPCA about the steps one can take to report such instances.

Ms Oberholzer explained that the pet needs to be taken to a veterinarian, who needs to provide a report confirming that the animal was shot. Substantial proof needs to accompany the report, implicating the perpetrator that injured the animal.

Not only is it a violation of the law to shoot a weapon in a populated area, it is also a violation of the Animals Protection Act to use any equipment that may cause harm to an animal.