fairview horses

Photo: Supplied

Fairview horse slaughter: Politicians slam ‘revolting’ animal killings

A crime of unspeakable brutality has left animal lovers – and many politicians – fuming on Thursday. The Fairview horse killings have been wholly condemned.

fairview horses

Photo: Supplied

A horrendous act of revenge has taken place at the Fairview Racecourse in Port Elizabeth. Employees past and present at the facility have taken their pay dispute with their bosses to the extreme and retaliated by injuring, maiming, and even killing one of the horses at the site. Several other animals are likely to be put down as a result of their injuries.

“We need convictions”

Senior inspector at the Animal Anti-Cruelty League (AACL) in Uitenhage, Beverley Rademeyer, was left devastated by the attack. She is demanding that a swift course of justice is enacted to put these criminal members of society behind bars:

“The AACL condemn this incident in the strongest terms. How anyone could do such a thing to an innocent animal is beyond comprehension. We need as much evidence as we can get. This incident is a clear case of utmost cruelty to animals, and the perpetrators need to be prosecuted and convicted.”

Beverley Rademeyer

Rademeyer wasn’t the only authoritative voice left shaken by this incident. Politicians have condemned the mindless acts of violence on Thursday, with one local representative calling the attacks ‘revolting’. The reaction elsewhere has been fierce:

Political reaction to the Fairview Horse killings

  • DA EC Provincial Leader Nqaba Bhanga: “These criminals must feel the full weight of the law”

“The Democratic Alliance condemns, in the strongest terms, the violent attacks against helpless animals on private property that have taken place at the Fairview Racecourse in Nelson Mandela Bay. The invasion of the racecourse by between 150 and 200 people has been attributed to grooms who worked at the stables who had allegedly lost their jobs.”

“Whatever the circumstance, these violent attacks can never be justified or condoned. The DA is calling on the South African Police Service and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to investigate and ensure that those responsible are arrested and that the full weight of the law is brought to bear against them.”

  • NCOP Member and DA MP Dennis Ryder: “This is a barbaric, unacceptable murder”

“The House must stand with me and condemn the inhumane attack and killing of defenceless animals by cowardly thugs at the Fairview Racecourse this morning. No matter your grievance, the barbaric murder of a horse is not acceptable”

  • FF Plus Provincial Leader Piet May: “This was a revolting attack”

“It is incomprehensible, inexcusable, and absolutely revolting. The incident is a shining example of the unacceptable and shocking levels of violence associated with crime, which seems to be at the order of the day in South Africa. The almost unfathomable level of violence and brutality is often seen in farm murders.”

“The grievance is something that the employer and owners of the horses have absolutely no control over and that was actually caused by the national lockdown. So, instead of voicing their dissatisfaction with the ANC’s incompetence, they opted to attack and maim innocent animals. The FF Plus strongly condemns this incident.”