Pit Bull Owners Surrendering Pets to SPCA Leaves South Africans Divided

• Pet owners are surrendering their pitbulls following the recent violent attacks that resulted in the loss of lives
• The South African Pitbull Federation believes that lives are being lost due to irresponsible animal owners
• The federation’s Lehanda Rheeder believes dog fighting rings and improper breeding cause aggressive behaviour

JOHANNESBURG - The South African Pitbull Federation believes that lives are being lost due to irresponsible animal owners.

This comes as some pet owners opt to surrender their pit bulls to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

The federation’s Lins Rautenbach told EWN that it is sad that the SPCA is left cleaning up the mess. She said the upkeep of the surrendered dogs would strain the organisation.

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Rautenbach said police need to ensure by-laws related to pit bulls are enforced and cases related to the Animals Matter Amendment Act must be opened.

The federation’s Lehanda Rheeder believes that the breed cannot be punished due to the recent attacks.

She told SABC News that dog fighting rings, improper breeding and bad owners resulted in aggressive behaviour.

The Pitbull Federation also called for stricter regulations around the breeding of dogs.

Here’s what citizens have to say:

@Wheredhego23 said:

“I have met MANY Pitts that are softies and just wonderful personalities, the blame is on the owners!”

@Poochxyz commented:

“These dogs must be so afraid of the unknown being taken away from their families and now finding themselves in cages surrounded by strange people. Ai it is terrible!”

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Pit bull mauls 8-year-old boy to death, sparks “ban the breed” debate on social media

@Sihle89547805 posted:

“I salute those owners.”

@Sami_Yaza wrote:

“I ain’t surrendering nobody! In fact I’ll go adopt some of these dogs from the SPCA.”

@LeSudanese added:

“Don’t just take the dogs...take the owners also.”

Pit bull mauls 8-year-old boy to death, sparks “ban the breed” debate on social media

Briefly News also reported that the death of an eight-year-old boy who was mauled by a pit bull sparked a major debate over “ban the breed” calls.

It is believed that the dog escaped its enclosure and jumped into the neighbour’s premises before attacking the child on Saturday, 12 November.

The deputy mayor of the Mangaung Metro in Bloemfontein visited the boy’s family and has called on citizens to surrender their pit bulls.

Source: Briefly News