The City of Cape Town and the Cape Animal Welfare Forum have called for calm following tensions over pitbull attacks.
This comes after the latest incident saw residents taking matters into their own hands following three pit bulls attacking a young girl in Gatesville, Athlone, on Sunday.
PICTURE: PixabayThe City’s mayoral committee member for safety and security,
JP Smith, emphasized the aggressiveness of the dog depends on how they raised by their owners and
added that the city has condemned the community`s retaliation attack on the
dogs.
“The real problem is how dogs are raised and trained by
their owners, but also inter-breeding which affects the temperament of a dog.
Furthermore, this issue is not pit-bull specific. The incident in Athlone this
week where members of the community killed three pit-bulls following an attack
on a child has to be condemned in the strongest terms.”
“Firstly, animal owners have a responsibility to ensure
that their dogs do not pose a threat to anyone and are kept within their
properties, but it is also illegal to harm or torture an animal. If anyone has
concerns about a dangerous animal, they must report it to the SPCA or Law
Enforcement so that urgent action can be taken. We cannot have a situation
where people take the law into their own hands in this manner,” he reiterated.
The City said its Law Enforcement Animal Control Unit is
investigating the attack of the young girl.
By Lulama Klassen
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