Dairy farmer guilty of animal cruelty
A North West Province farmer submitted an admission of guilt to charges of animal cruelty‚ was fined R2 000 and now has a criminal record‚ the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) said.
Rasie de Jager of the Kortfontein dairy farm in Koster was charged in terms of the Animals Protection Act following a series of incidents and numerous inspections undertaken at the farm by the NSPCA in 2013.
On the first visit‚ the NSPCA said in statement‚ cattle were found up to their ankles in mud‚ some struggling to walk‚ while a later inspection revealed that adult cattle were found suffering from injuries sustained after they “had been transported from KwaZulu-Natal in a transporter designed for calves”.
“No veterinary treatment had been provided‚” said the NSPCA‚ which issued a warning requiring that “adequate shelter must be provided for the cows‚ that unsound animals must receive veterinary treatment and that cows struggling to walk must be placed in an isolation area and undergo veterinary examination”.
“The farmer failed to comply.”
Burt Coetzee‚ a senior inspector of the NSPCA’s Farm Animal Protection Unit‚ said this case is a prime example of persistence by the NSPCA in bringing a case before court.
“The welfare of animals is fundamental and must be taken seriously. No-one is exempt‚” said Coetzee.
“It is the animals who suffer and there is no excuse. It is always appreciated when people report matters of concern. To us‚ all animals matter and it is completely unacceptable – and against the law – to treat them in the disgracefully uncaring and neglectful way they have suffered at the hands of this farmer.”
-RDM News Wire
