After smashing his motorbike into a stray cow on a busy road and fracturing his right leg, a teacher from Despatch is gearing up to sue the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality for negligence.
The municipal pound has been closed for the last eight weeks because the municipality has not paid more than R160,000 owed to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
Francois Marais, 50, said he was suing the municipality for closing the pound because it had endangered people’s lives by allowing stray animals on the roads and creating hazardous conditions for drivers.
“It’s a bylaw that all animals should be marked. There’s no fencing, there are no boards on the side of the road and once you hit a stray animal, the owner doesn’t claim it, instead they disappear,” Marais said.
On Wednesday last week, while driving on the M19 towards Despatch, Marais said he had hit a stray cow as he could not stop his motorbike in time.
He said a young male had crossed the road and walked right in front of his motorbike.
“There was no time and it died on impact. That is animal cruelty because if it had been removed that would not have happened.
“My problem is not with the owner because the pound was closed due to the SPCA not having food for the animals because the municipality was not paying them.”
Marais said he wanted to force the municipality to open the pound because it was a liability and a public risk.
He said he spent five days at Cuyler Hospital in Uitenhage after sustaining two fractures in his right leg and torn ligaments, and had 36 stitches.
The teacher said he planned to sue the municipality for R1m because the replacement value of his motorbike was R251,000 and that of his jacket was R6,000. This was in addition to medical bills.
Marais put out a post on Facebook looking for others in similar accidents to join his efforts and sue the municipality.
Bay mayor Mongameli Bobani, speaking on Algoa FM radio on Thursday morning, said the problem with the SPCA would be resolved by the end of October.
Meanwhile, SPCA district chair Deirdre Swift said prior to the on-air conversation, there had been no communication from the municipality.
“The status of the pound is exactly the same. It was closed on September 6 and it remains closed pending the payment, the finalisation of the lease agreement and the service level agreement, which the mayor said would be done by the end of the month,” she said.
“I’m hoping it’s going to happen as [Bobani] said and by the end of next week we would have received payment, which would allow us to open the pound.”
Swift said she had advised the municipality that there were other risks in not paying for their services, such as public safety and animal safety.
“Stray animals ... It’s not their fault that they’re there and basically the service should be running because if the owners are negligent in allowing their animals on the road, the animal control of the metro can enforce the law so the public are not endangered.”
Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said it had not yet renewed its contract with the SPCA as payment was an issue because the metro did not have a common understanding with the SPCA.
“The payment has not yet been effected because there are still outstanding supply chain registration issues on the side of the SPCA that need to be sorted out,” Mniki said.