VN May 2023

Vetnews | Mei 2023 27 Illegal pitbull fighting has been dealt a blow in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village near Somerset West in the Western Cape after a local welfare organisation teamed up with veterinarians to sterilise as many dogs as it could sign up. Underground fights are a serious problem in this impoverished settlement, according to animal welfare veteran Colleen Pienaar, but law enforcement appeared to do little to stop it. “When it comes to law enforcement, Sir Lowry’s Pass is a forgotten village,” said Pienaar. “ Even when we alert the police and the SPCA to fights, by the time they arrive the dogs and their owners have disappeared, and all evidence of fighting been cleaned up.” Desperate to try to put an end to this cruel practice, Pienaar tried a new tactic: persuading pitbull owners of the benefits of sterilisation. Recent press reports of fatal pitbull attacks on a child and an elderly woman spurred rumours of a government crackdown on pitbull ownership with many owners believing that a sterilised dog was less likely to be confiscated by authorities. This, and owner education about the health benefits of sterilisation, persuaded more than 60 Sir Lowry’s Pass owners to agree to their dogs being spayed and neutered. “Our family has had pitbulls for many years. Recently our small bitch had 16 puppies and 6 of the puppies died. The mother was very thin and weak after that, so we decided to have her fixed so that she doesn’t have more puppies. We want our dogs to live with us for longer. They are great dogs to have,” said pitbull owner Erin Bagus whose female Nalla (5) and male Randy (7) were both sterilised at the Community Veterinary Care (CVC) clinic in the local community hall. Pienaar teamed up with the EberVet Petcare Group whose two clinics, Country Animal Clinic in Somerset West and EberVet Pet Clinic in Strand partnered with Cottage Vet in Gordon’s Bay to provide the surgeons. Seven veterinarians worked shifts on the spay day supported by two veterinary nurses and an army of EberVet staff volunteers. Dr Hilldidge Beer, EberVet CEO, described the initiative as a giant step in the right direction though she accepted that wider social issues needed to be addressed before pitbull breeding and fighting could be totally eradicated. Though not all 67 owners who initially signed up with Pienaar turned up on the day, numbers were large enough to impact the population, Pienaar believed. Dr Beer confirmed that 67 dogs were nonetheless sterilised and while not all were pitbulls, every sterilisation was a victory. Every dog sterilised was also vaccinated against rabies, dewormed, had its nails clipped, examined for illness and injury, protected against ticks and fleas, and sent home with a bag of food, a new lead and collar, a food bowl and treats. “We’ve had tremendous support from sponsors like Montego, UltraPet, Hill’s, Afrivet, Ascendis, Virbac and dozens more and for that we are enormously grateful. Together we have made a significant difference to the dogs in this village,”Dr Beer said. v CVC News I CVC Nuus EberVet Vetshop volunteers Gerda and Duhardt carry a pitbull from surgery to post-op cleanup EberVet Vetshops operations manager Jesse Gerber was one of several EberVet staff members to volunteer for the spayday >>> 28