Durban - Petitions and calls for pit bulls and other vicious dogs have dominated headlines in 2022.
Two months ago, the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation launched a petition calling on government to impose a ban on the ownership of pit bulls as pets.
The ban followed the death of 10-year-old Storm Nuku who was mauled to death in September in Gqeberha.
Since then, there have been several other fatal incidents involving the power breed.
Earlier in December, a 43-year-old man was mauled to death by dogs, one of which was a pit bull terrier.
The man was on his way home from a tavern in Chesterville, Durban, where he had been drinking with friends when the dogs allegedly attacked him.
In another incident, chef, Zimkhitha Gaga, 37, was walking on a road in Port Alfred when she was attacked.
Police said two witnesses alerted a security guard to the attack, but Gaga died before medical help could arrive.
There have also been attacks on children in the Free State and Eastern Cape.
Foundation founder Sizwe Kupelo says that two months and almost 135 000 signatures later, they have submitted the petition to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister, Thoko Didiza.
“We wanted to hand it over personally, but after weeks of waiting to get a date for the handover from the minister’s office, it was submitted it online,” Kupelo said.
He said he was overwhelmed by the support from South Africans.
“When we made the call, we were not expecting the amount of response, but this just shows that ours was a right call and campaign. South Africans have spoken and the message is loud and clear: ban pit bulls now to prevent more unnecessary deaths. This is what active citizenry is all about.
"We, the people, have done our part and now the ball is in our government’s court. We hope that the voices of the thousands of people will be heard," Kupelo said.
He said the petition is to get government to either ban pit bulls or place strict measures around owning them, much like in Russia, Finland, Denmark, the UK, Portugal, parts of Germany, parts of China, parts of Brazil and parts of Australia.
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.
He thanked those who signed the petition and made mention of the insults hurled at his foundation for driving the petition.
“Throughout the campaign, pit bull lovers have hurled insults, with some demonstrating total disregard for human lives. In fact, others like the vile excuse of a human being, Belinda Magor, showed their true colours — they value animals over members of the human race,” he said.
Meanwhile, some owners have resorted to handing over their pit bulls to SPCAs around the country.
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, caring and treatment of power breeds.
At the heart of its message, the PBFSA continues to reiterate that “pit bull owners, as all owners of domestic animals, must safeguard their premises in order to ensure that the animal cannot gain access to surrounding neighbours and/or the street area”.
IOL