Five dogs euthanised after being left for dead by Mangaung metro police

Five dogs from the Mangaung Metro Municipality Law Enforcement Department in Bloemfontein have been confiscated and euthanised by the SPCA following a shocking discovery of the dogs’ living conditions. 

Bloemfontein SPCA inspector Charmaine Engelbrecht said the dogs — which were made up of four German Shepherds and one Border Collie — were confiscated from officers on 17 February after the SPCA received an anonymous tip-off.

On arrival, Engelbrecht explained that the premises was highly unkempt. 

“The grass was so long, you can see it had not been cut in a very long time, even the area where the dogs are meant to train was broken,” she said. 

“The dogs were found with musculoskeletal issues which affect the hip and pelvic area and they were still forced to stay in kennels,” she added. 

Dogs were meant to retire years ago 

Engelbrecht said the frail animals were extremely old. 

“These dogs were meant to retire many years ago, they were by no means fit to work,” she said. 

“You can see that these officers had no retirement plan set out for these dogs.” 

When asked how the officers responded to the removal of the animals, Engelbrecht confirmed that they “said absolutely nothing,” nor did they have any records for any of the dogs, providing their age and other details.

After a police dog retires, Englebrecht said it is common for the handler to adopt them into their own home, however, in this case, nothing of the sort materialised. 

Euthanised to end suffering  

After many years of neglect and suffering, the dogs, unfortunately, had to be euthanised. 

When the vet saw the state of the dogs, he told Engelbrecht that they were no longer fit for service and they needed to be euthanised due to extreme pain. 

The organisation is in the process of opening an animal cruelty case against members of the Mangaung Metro Municipality Law Enforcement Department and its management in terms of the Animal Protection Act 71 of 1962.

In another disturbing incident which took place in 2018, 25 horses in the care of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were starved to death. The NSPCA pressed charges as all 25 horses had to be euthanised due to starvation.

The horses were kept at the South African Army Specialised Infantry Capability (SAASIC) in Potchefstroom. 

According to IOL, the SAASIC was established in March 2011 with a number of horses to provide an equestrian capability for the SANDF. This is a function that includes borderline safety deployment and training.

NSPCA director Marcelle Meredith said: “What’s done is done and there is a price to pay for suffering.”