On Tuesday, 21 January, a collision between a container truck and a livestock trailer transporting 200 pigs at Sir Lowry’s Pass resulted in traffic coming to a standstill.
The scene saw injured pigs and carcasses scattered in the road, while smoke from a burning vehicle engulfed the area, Cape {town} Etc reports.
In addition, the partly crushed livestock trailer resulted in further obstruction to traffic on the road, and the flatbed truck involved in the collision had veered off the road, toppled its container and caught fire.
Responding swiftly to the crisis, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA and three other Cape Animal Welfare Forum member organisations sprang into action.
Out of the 200 pigs on the scene, four died immediately and two had to be humanely euthanised due to the severity of their injuries.
Animal Welfare Society teams from Helderberg, Grabouw and Glen Graze were the first to arrive on the scene and were forced to sedate the two critically injured pigs.
SPCA inspectors then took over but the effective response was ultimately the result of unity and collaboration between the listed establishments.
Commenting on the incident, the Chief Inspector of the SPCA stated, ‘it was a scene of unimaginable distress but despite the chaos, the collaborative efforts of animal rescue teams, emergency services, and law enforcement made a significant difference.’
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Picture: Cape of Good Hope SPCA
