Centurion pet shop under fire

Three rabbits and two rats have been put down after they were taken from a Centurion pet shop, the SPCA said this week.

Rick Allan, manager of the Tshwane SPCA, said his branch obtained a court order to remove some of the rabbits from Tip Top Pet Shop because the animals were not being looked after properly. “In total three rabbits were signed over, including two rats.”

The rats were apparently taken because they were carrying sores on their ears.

Allan said Tshwane SPCA‘s vets had decided the animals rabbits should be put down due to the nature of their injuries, he said. He was unable to elaborate immediately

The pet shop owner, Ronel Boshoff, gave a different version of what happened. She said the SPCA inspector initially wanted to take three rabbits, but only left with one rabbit and the two rats.

“I confronted him about the fact that his form spoke about the removal of three rabbitts, and he said he would correct it.”

She claimed that rabbit taken was a mother that was still nursing some babies.

“And to top it all, the inspector told me to kill the baby rabbits. I refused to do so and gave them to another rabbit who is acting as a surrogate mother.”

Allan said he had no knowledge of these allegations, and undertook to investigate.

Tip Top Pet Shop has also came under fire from the Animal Rights group, Ban Animal Trading South Africa (Bat) this week.

Bat claimed as many as 500 rabbits were being kept in poor conditions in and around the shop, saying the larger animals were to be slaughtered for meat.

Ronel Boshoff, owner of Tip Top Pet Shop, rejected this, saying she only had about 15 fully-grown rabbtits on the premises.

“I am keeping them temporarily as a favour to a rabbit breeders’ association while it was getting its own new facility ready.”

Boshoff said most of the animals in her shop were not for sale, but were abused or unwanted animals she has taken in, including cockatoos, African grey parrots, albino pythons and iguanas.

“These animals were dumped at my doorstep, and I took them in and I’m not willing to sell them,” said Boshoff.

Asked about this and for evidence backing its claims, Bat said in a statement it would not publish anything without evidence. “We have no reason to make false accusations.”

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