A retired couple in the Northern Cape are grieving the loss of two of their beagle dogs that they allege were shot and killed by a former police officer using a hunting rifle.
A RETIRED couple in the Northern Cape are grieving the loss of two of their beagle dogs that they allege were shot and killed by a former police officer using a hunting rifle.
Having recently retired to Calvinia, the couple said they were struggling to lodge a criminal complaint as “no one wanted to help them”.
Gerrie and Anli van Deventer said they had noticed that their dogs had escaped from the property after they arrived home following a quick errand last week.
“We immediately jumped in our vehicle in search of them,” said Van Deventer.
“At the neighbouring property we found one of the male dogs, who seemed to have injured his foot and couldn’t keep up with the rest of the pack.
“Then we drove to Witwalle in the direction of Kleinplasie where we saw (a man) and his wife standing in the street looking out over the Witwal farm property. When we asked them if they had seen our dogs they said ’no’. The man also said somebody was busy shooting on Witwal but couldn’t see what was being shot at.”
The couple were allowed onto the property and gave chase in the direction from which the shots were being fired.
They said they were met with the sight of the alleged perpetrator perched on the back of a bakkie with his rifle.
“We asked him if he was shooting at dogs and he confirmed it, admitting that he had already shot two dogs. He further said he was taking aim at a ‘stubborn’ one behind a bush.
“We urged him to stop shooting as it was our dogs, which cost R9,000 each. He apologised, then said we can go get the dogs he had already shot.”
Both dead dogs had apparently been shot in the head.
The Northern Cape police refuted the allegations that there were “hurdles” in the way of the couple’s attempt to lodge a complaint.
“The Calvinia police are investigating a case of malicious damage to property after the allegations of dogs that were fatally shot on a farm property near Calvinia. The SAPS in Calvinia refutes the allegation that the complainant was denied the right to open a case against the alleged perpetrator. We can confirm that the matter is being investigated. No one has been arrested at this stage,” the police said.
The couple has since started an online petition in the hope of getting “justice”.
“(The perpetrator) was under no circumstances entitled to shoot our dogs with a large hunting rifle, nor was he able to show us any injured sheep or other animals,” the petition reads.
