PORT ELIZABETH - A 56-year-old man from Rooifontein, Thaba 'Nchu, has been found guilty on seven charges of animal abuse under the Animal Protection Act on Wednesday after several pigs belonging to him were found in such a poor state that they had to be put down.
Zenzile Malgas was convicted in the Thaba 'Nchu Magistrate's Court and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for five years.
Furthermore, the presiding Magistrate Estelle de Lange has declared Malgas unfit to own or be in charge of any pigs for the provision of five years.
On Monday, 3 June 2019 three inspectors from the Bloemfontein SPCA responded to a complaint about pigs that were in poor condition in Rooifontein.
The inspectors said that they found some of the animals in such a poor state that they could not stand.
"These pigs were so thin that I did not know it was pigs. When they heard me approaching, they tried to stand up but kept falling to the ground. They looked at me with so much despair and desperation in their eyes," one of the inspectors said.
The Bloemfontein SPCA put some of the animals down because there was no hope for their survival and the SPCA opened a case of cruelty to animals against the owner, Malgas.
“I knew in my heart that justice will be served for these pigs. Malgas now has a criminal record. He and the trust where he had these pigs will be kept under a close eye of the Bloemfontein SPCA and will be monitored regularly," an inspector from the Bloemfontein SPCA, Charmaine Engelbrecht said.
"The community plays a big roll in the work that we do, I, therefore, urge each person to report any animal cruelty to your nearest SPCA to be investigated."