The Lower South Coast SPCA in KwaZulu-Natal has condemned the arson attack on its vehicle with three dogs burnt alive inside on Sunday in the Nkampini area.
Lower South Coast manager Mike Davis said the organisation situated in Uvongo in Margate is in dire straits after the traumatic arson incident on the SPCA’s Ford Bantam vehicle on Sunday night.
Detailing the incident, Davis said the SPCA received a notification from their vehicle tracking company just after 6.40pm indicating that the vehicle’s tracker had sent off an emergency signal.
“The tracking company, SPCA personnel and the SAPS Search and Rescue Unit initiated a search for the driver and vehicle,” he said, adding that at this stage, it was unknown whether the vehicle was carrying animals.
He said the vehicle was then found with three dogs in the vehicle, burnt alive. “The amount of suffering these animals would have endured is unimaginable.”
According to Davis, the driver was found unharmed but confused in the early hours of Monday morning.
“It is absolutely barbaric that anyone would commit such a heinous act against the SPCA, being a non-profit organisation with extremely limited resources. This struggling SPCA has been serving their community to the best of its ability, but this malicious act has brought their operational capacity to a standstill,” he said.
Davis further explained that the SPCA’s vehicles offer a lifeline to countless animals in need, and without them, the organisation cannot reach animals who require assistance.
“This treasonous act should be condemned by the community in the strongest terms, and the SAPS is called upon to ensure swift and stringent action against those responsible,” he said.
The NSPCA appealed to the public to assist the Lower South Coast SPCA with donations and assistance towards replacement of the vehicle, or a vehicle on loan in their area.
“With already limited resources, they cannot afford to go a single day without a vehicle.”
The Mercury