The Germiston SPCA had an incredibly bad festive season.<\/p>\n
Manager and senior inspector Burt Coetzee told the GCN that compared to 2014 the intake increased by 65 per cent.<\/p>
\u201cThe total amount of animals we received was over 500 dogs and cats.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe majority of these animals were either surrendered, strays, cruelty-related cases, abandoned or people going on holiday and leaving animals behind with no or very little care,\u201d Coetzee said.<\/p>
\u201cThe cruelty cases and injured animals received increased mostly due to the abandonment of pets, severe heat, thunderstorms and fireworks-related injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coetzee added that the number of animals found on the highway increased by 500 per cent compared to 2014 and that the 500 animals received only included the animals taken into the society, not those animals assisted in the community by the SPCA.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristmas Day presented one of the worst scenes we had for the festive season.<\/p>\n
\u201cA pit bull was found in a ditch next to the main road in Wychwood, with its back leg and its front toes cut off.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dog was weak, barely able to breathe and extremely emaciated and left for dead,\u201d Coetzee said.<\/p>\n
New Year\u2019s Eve was another nightmare day for animals in the Germiston area.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the space of 24 hours the Germiston SPCA received 109 calls related to animals that were somehow affected by the fireworks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese were for animals that had escaped out of properties or injured themselves in fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral animals died from self-sustained injuries due to the fear of the fireworks, some injuries were also caused by human negligence or barbaric behaviour where people intentionally injured animals with fireworks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank all our supporters for their contributions to our Christmas Cheer Fund and their support all year round.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it was not for these funds or these silent heroes, we would not have been in the position to be able to do the work we do and assist these animals,\u201d Coetzee said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Other articles you may be interested in:<\/p>\n