More than 140 equine-related complaints have been responded to by the Cape of Good Hope SPCA since January, resulting in 10 confiscations across the city.
SPCA Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse said for the year up to the end of July they had responded to 147 complaints relating to cruelty to horses, ponies and other equine animals.
“The owners were found in contravention of the Animals Protection Act. Conditions vary from being tortured to being starved.”
Recent complaints were received and responded to in Tafelsig, Schaapkraal and Macassar.
Another horse was also rescued on the M5 highway on Thursday 17 August during rush hour traffic. Trailing training equipment it was running in a panicked frenzy along the highway at 16:45.
With concern for the traffic and the horse, inspectors rushed to the scene to save the horse.
The horse had an injury to the leg and had been calmed down by a bystander.
It is believed it had been trained in the Parkwood area.
Said Pieterse in a statement: “We extend our heartfelt thanks to the members of the public who stopped to help, Cape Town Traffic Services, which closed the road enabling us to work safely as well as all the motorists on the M5 for the patience and consideration for a horse in trouble.”
The keeping of equine and working animals – along with any other animal – is governed by an animal-keeping bylaw.
The conditions that would exclude or allow the keeping of these animals are not black-and-white, he said.
“The animals must have adequate space and access to protection or shelter against weather, among other things.”
While their mandate is always the welfare of animals, rescuing equine is a costly exercise, said Pieterse.
“Equines are expensive to own and look after. With a majority of our cases we find people have equines but cannot care for them adequately because they do not have the resources, or in some instances do not have the knowledge to look after them. We then intervene and educate where we can, issue warnings to rectify any concerns and if there is no compliance, then we enforce the law and seize the animals.
“Those that need to be kept for duration of the court case will stay in our care until the matter is resolved, and those that we can rehome are placed for adoption. It all depends on the case.”
According to the City of Cape Town’s Animal Keeping Bylaw 2021, no person putting a working animal to work will:
- permit the working animal to be in any public place while being incapable of pulling an animal-drawn vehicle, suffering from injury or disease, or is otherwise unfit or unsuited to the intended work;
- permit the working animal to constitute a hazard to traffic using any public street or road;
- permit the working animal to constitute or be likely to constitute a source of danger or injury to any person or animal using a public street;
- permit the working animal to be in any public street or public place except when under their control;
- work any working animal which does not have on the name, telephone number and address of its owner;
- permit any working animal to draw any vehicle, or use any harness which does not comply with the SABS standards and criteria, which may be determined by the City from time to time;
- work any working equine without a valid E53 Operators Permit where the person is noted as driver;
- be younger than 18 years of age; or
- be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Equines, which by definition broadly include horses, ponies, donkeys and mules are considered working animals in the bylaw.
Any owner, who wants to put to work a working equine, must apply to the City for a permit in respect of such working equine, the bylaw states. No more than one permit may be issued in respect of a working equine.
In line with the bylaw, an authorised official may seize, impound or destroy at a place appointed by the City any working equine which:
- may be destroyed on the advice of a veterinary surgeon or in terms of the provisions of any law;
- in his or her opinion is incapable to continue to pull an animal drawn vehicle;
- in his or her opinion constitutes a hazard to traffic using any public street;
- is at large or apparently without an owner; or
- is found in any public place where such a working equine is, in the opinion of the authorised official, not under proper control.
“No person shall, by threats of violence or otherwise, rescue or attempt to rescue from the person or persons in charge thereof any working equine being lawfully brought to the pound, or shall rescue or attempt to rescue any working equine after such working equine has been lawfully impounded by an authorised official,” reads the bylaw.
A property not zoned for agricultural purposes must comply with permit criteria for keeping working equines on the premises.
Other than the horses, no cattle, goats or sheep, pigs or roosters are to be kept on residential premises.
