After the owner denied access to a property in Grassy Park, Cape of Good Hope SPCA inspectors obtained a court order to confiscate four Hackney horses that were being kept in poor living conditions and subjected to cruel and archaic training methods.
Warning: This article contains content that readers may find disturbing.
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The Cape of Good Hope SPCA received a complaint about horses being kept in poor living conditions on a property in Grassy Park.
This prompted the SPCA’s inspectors to launch an investigation.
Upon arrival at the Grassy Park property, the inspectors were denied access by the owner, who insisted that the inspectors return with a court order. This meant that they had no choice but to ask the Wynberg Magistrates Court for permission to investigate the property under the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 and Regulation 468.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) from Grassy Park and the City of Cape Town’s Law Enforcement: Animal Control Unit joined the SPCA inspectorate as they returned to the Grassy Park property with a court order in hand.
Upon arriving at the property, a woman standing in front of the house insisted that the team wait while she called the owner.
Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse and Inspector Jeffrey Mfini did not feel comfortable with this arrangement and followed the woman into the property. As the woman entered the back property with the inspectors closely following, she quickly informed the owner that the SPCA was there.
The inspectors were horrified by their findings.
A Hackney horse stallion was found restrained. His neck had been forced into a tight, hyperflexed bow with his head forced down onto his chest, and he had been tied into this unnatural position.
Because tight pieces of rope were tied from his bridle through his bit and onto a roller, the poor animal couldn’t move his head up or down or to the left or right to get any relief from the pain in his muscles or mouth.
This pain had been inflicted on the horse over a long period of time.
“He was drenched in sweat; his veins and blood vessels are swollen with exertion. The white foam that thickly covered his mouth and entire nose, as well as her wide eyes and tightly tensed facial muscles, spoke volumes as to his extreme state of distress,” said SPCA Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse.
Quickly attempting to prevent the inspectors from taking pictures and videos of the cruel training technique being used, one of the handlers tried to untie the rope. The inspectors quickly caught up with the suspect and were able to collect information for a criminal investigation.
After further investigation, the inspectors discovered three more Hackney horses being kept in inadequate stables at the rear of the residential property. The air was still heavily perfumed with ammonia. The so-called stables had little to no ventilation and were pitch-black inside. The horses’ living conditions were filthy and unhygienic, and they had only access to contaminated drinking water.
“This torture technique, almost similar to the Rollkur technique, involves the forced, aggressive, over-flexion of the horse’s neck, with the effect of forcing the horse into an artificial outline demand for competing Hackney horses and holding it in that position for long periods. This is beyond cruelty,” said SPCA Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse.
This practice is extremely cruel and causes extreme mental and physical distress to any animal subjected to this torturous training technique. It holds no benefit for the animal and is cruelly and selfishly intended to improve the animal’s competition performance.
Because of the extreme bend collapsing the vocal folds as the large lungs try to suck air into the body, hyperflexion affects the animal’s ability to breathe by causing a dynamic obstruction of the upper respiratory tract—imagine slowly suffocating as you fight for each breath. Excessive salivation is a sign that the parotid gland is under a lot of pressure.
If this torture method is used often, it can cause muscle tears, bone spurs, and degeneration of the spine because the vertebrae are forced into an unnatural position.
When the inspectors informed the owner that his horses would be confiscated, the owner became violent and punched Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse and pushed him out of the way, attempting to stop him and the team from confiscating the horses.
The owner was taken into custody by members of the SAPS, and the inspectors filed official criminal charges against him under the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 for animal cruelty, obstruction, and assault.
The owner is set to make a first appearance in the Wynberg Magistrates Court on Thursday, 19 January 2023.
The horses were confiscated, and the team safely loaded the horses into the SPCA horsebox.
The horses have been taken to the SPCA Horse Care Unit for veterinary examination and further care.
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Picture: Cape of Good Hope SPCA