THE two men accused of maltreating the Tuli elephants in 1998 on a plot near Brits in the North West, had three charges dropped against them in the Pretoria Regional Court on Friday.
Riccardo Ghiazza and Wayne Stockigt were initially facing five charges relating to abusing the 30 young elephants from the Tuli block in Botswana.
The National Council of the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) said on Friday that the three charges that were dropped were minor.
Representative Christine Kuch said the charges related to the withholding of food from the animals, using instruments which could cause pain and injury and a licence for training animals.
The two main charges under the Animal Protection Act relating to tethering the elephants in such a way that it could cause injury to them and beating them, still stood, Kuch said.
The court ruled on Friday that it needed to hear evidence from the defence on the two main charges, despite an argument from Ghiazza’s lawyers that the State had failed to make a case against their client and his co-accused.
A third accused, Craig Saunders, had charges against him dropped earlier this week. – Sapa