Cape Town - After a raid on Friday at Monwabisi Park, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA has lodged a complaint against Harare police for their failure to apprehend a suspect involved in dog fighting.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has shown its frustration over a case that has been thrown out the window by Harare SAPS after a raid that they carried out supported by the City's Law Enforcement at a house in Monwabisi Park on Friday.
According to the animal welfare organisation, they conducted the raid after receiving information about dog fighting taking place at the premises.
Due to evidence found, the owner was arrested and taken to the Harare SAPS on suspicion of animal fighting and other contraventions of the Animals Protection Act No 71 of 1962.
In terms of Section 2(1)A of the act and charges of animal cruelty in terms of Section 2 of the act, the accused faced charges of animal fighting. However, the Harare SAPS failed to register the case and released the suspect without following due process.
“Several dogs were found living on short, static chains, with several presented with scarring patterns synonymous with dog fighting.
“Also on the property was a dog fighting pit, complete with blood evidence. Veterinary drugs and other dog fighting paraphernalia were also found,” the SPCA said.
Following the release of the suspect without formally charging him, failure to register the case and failure to follow due process, the SPCA said that it had lodged a formal complaint against Harare SAPS with both the Western Cape SAPS and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
“The SPCA faultlessly followed due process but have since, as a result of the inadequacies/apathy/incompetence of the SAPS Harare office, faced a ruthless onslaught by way of a barrage of false accusations, including an alleged infringement of the accused’s human rights.
“The SPCA is an organisation that holds a deep respect for the law, and we would never proceed with an arrest unless we had compelling reasons to do so.
“We stand firmly behind the validity of our allegations, and we will continue to do so until the matter is resolved in court. We are confident that the evidence we have gathered will speak for itself and support our case against the accused,”
SAPS spokesperson FC van Wyk said that the circumstances surrounding the incident were now the subject of an Ipid investigation.