Rocklands puppy mill rescue

[caption id="attachment_229045" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Veterinary assistant Faatimah Ajam helps the neglected dogs.
Picture: Eugene Coetzee[/caption]

In what has been called one of the most horrendous cases involving cruelty to animals in the Nelson Mandela Bay area, 117 dogs – 84 adults and 34 puppies – were rescued from a puppy mill in Rocklands yesterday.

The move comes after the Animal Anti Cruelty League (AACL) and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality obtained court warrants to have the dogs and puppies removed from the owner.

Earlier, the court had issued warrants pertaining to illegal breeding and unsatisfactory living conditions. The bitches appeared undernourished and weak while the puppies were tiny and fragile.

When contacted for comment, dog owner Emmerentia Gerber asked: “Where did you hear about this? There is no comment, sorry,” and dropped the call.

But AACL inspector Beverley Rademeyer described the conditions under which the dogs lived as horrendous.

“ The dogs were confined in crates,” Rademeyer said. “She had no permission to breed the dogs. She broke municipal bylaws. There was water all over the ground. The owner pleaded with us to give her a second chance.”

She said the owner had been reluctant to allow them in.

On June 7, Rademeyer said, the AACL approached the court and were granted the first warrant for the dogs to be removed from Gerber’s custody. At the time, Gerber promised to improve the living conditions but this never happened.

The AACL then obtained a second warrant against Gerber for alleged illegal breeding.

But when the officials went there yesterday, they discovered the dogs had allegedly been removed two weeks ago to a different address in the Rocklands area.

The dogs and puppies were eventually found and taken to a place of safety.