Anti-pit Bull Foundation Says the Dogs Should Not Be Kept as Pets, Calls for Castration and Sterilisation

• The Sizwe Kupelo Foundation is advocating for the prohibition of pit bulls as domestic pets in South Africa
• The petition follows a string of horrific deaths involving the "vicious" breed
• The foundation says the campaign is going well, with over 6 000 signatures on the petition thus far

UMTATA - An anti-pit bull foundation is calling for a ban on the domestication of pit bulls in South Africa.

The Sizwe Kupelo Foundation is urging the South African government to chemically castrate all male pit bulls and sterilise females to curb the breeding of the "deadly' dogs.

The foundation has also started an online petition for the government to outlaw the ownership of pit bulls as domestic animals entirely.

Speaking to Briefly News on what inspired him to start the campaign against pit bulls, Foundation founder Sizwe Kupelo said the campaign was started to protect lives, especially young children.

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Kupelo said:

"People are dying from pit bull [attacks], and the only ones defending the breed are pit bull owners. The argument by owners that it is how you raise the dogs does not hold water."

Kupelo added that the breed had viciously attacked many people. In support of the foundation's petition, Change.org reported that earlier this year, a woman's ears, lips and nose were mauled off her face by her employer's pit bulls, and a Durban woman suffered a horrific mauling.

Kupelo said that the public received the campaign very well, as the petition has received 6 942 signatures, which is 558 signatures away from the organisation's current goal.

The foundation assured it is not calling for the euthanisation of existing pit bulls but rather the introduction of licences for certain breeds and the inclusion of the "vicious" breed into the police's K9 unit, News 24 reports.

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South Africans react to Sizwe Kupelo Foundation's campaign

South Africans weigh in on the petition on social media. Here are some reactions:

Stephen Panagos said:

"Well, if they do that with dogs, time they do that with criminals."

Juliet Leppan claimed:

"Bit slow off the mark. Should have been enforced 20 years ago!"

Mandy Robbetze agreed:

"I agree because the owners of these dogs don’t know how to handle them, then human lives are lost."

@SabbyMole23 added:

"Vicious dogs have no place in areas where ppl are staying bcos they kill."

@Wizba exclaimed:

"Finally, THANK YOU. Oro, they should be thrown in the Kruger because they want to be wild animals."

Family dogs maul 10-year-old to death, shocked South Africans say pit bulls should not be pets

In a related story, Briefly News reported that an Eastern Cape boy was viciously mauled by his family's pit bulls on Monday, 26 September, while inside the family home.

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According to authorities, the boy from Gelvandale was attacked by the two pit bulls in the presence of two other children. The other two minors were found unharmed by police officers who arrived at the scene at around 1 pm.

Upon arriving at the scene after being alerted about the incident, police officers shot both the dogs inside the house, TimesLIVE reported.

Source: Briefly News