Polokwane – Police have arrested a 62-year-old man after his dogs attacked a woman in the small farming town of Vivo, in Limpopo, two days before Christmas.
According to police, 43-year-old Melitta Sekole died in hospital days later.
Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, a Limpopo SAPS spokesperson, said Sekole had been walking towards Vivo when she was attacked by two dogs, News24 reported. Police said the dogs involved in the attack “were believed to be pit bulls”.
Ledwaba said the dogs ripped off the woman's clothing and bit her. She was rescued by residents and rushed to a nearby hospital.
The dogs’ owner was arrested and charged with culpable homicide. He has since appeared in the Senwabarwana Magistrate's Court and the matter was postponed. He is due back in court on Thursday.
In November last year, a 37-year-old woman was attacked by dogs in Port Alfred while walking to work. Just days before that, an 8-year-old was mauled to death in Vista Park in Bloemfontein.
Dog maulings dominated headlines for much of last year.
This led to the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation launching a petition calling on the government to impose a ban on the ownership of pit bulls as pets.
Foundation founder Sizwe Kupelo said that two months and almost 135 000 signatures later, they had submitted the petition to Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza. Kupelo urged Didiza to ensure the petition was taken to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Cabinet for discussion and to the National Assembly for action.
Following the recent attacks, the Pit Bull Federation of SA (PBFSA) has endeavoured to debunk myths around pit bulls and other power breeds. The PBFSA has gone to great lengths to educate the public on the rearing, care and treatment of power breeds.
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