Agriculture
NSPCA adds cruelty charges to stock theft case─── SABRINA DEAN 00:00 Fri, 25 Sep 2015
Bloemfontein - The NSPCA has thrown its weight behind a stock theft case which saw four suspects arrested recently in connection with a spate of repeat thefts in the Nigel area.
Senior inspector Andries Venter says the case, which returns to court on Monday, will now be further bolstered by additional charges under the animal protection act.
He says the brutality and cruelty with which the crimes were committed point to criminals with a particularly violent nature:
*Andries Venter - cruelty
He says the animal cruelty charges relate to the modus operandi used by the thieves, who cut the tendons in the back legs to immobilise the animals. Venter says the thieves then slaughter the animals at their leisure, causing prolonged and unnecessary suffering.
Venter says weapons found in the possession of the suspects at their arrest match the cuts and hack marks on the slaughtered cattle. The suspects were arrested following a joint operation between the National Stock Theft Prevention Forum, the SAPS Stock Theft Unit and others.
Sabrina Dean/OFM News
*Andries Venter - cruelty:
