The National Council of the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) has condemned advice given by a contributor of the South Africa Gardening magazine on how to get rid of cats in the garden.
In a statement on Tuesday, NSPCA spokesperson Christine Kuch said the advice — given by Irmela Reichardt in the May edition to a reader who had a problem with cats that were messing up her garden — was cruel, callous and incited law-breaking.
”They promote cruelty to animals, encourage the breaking of the law and imply that the writer herself has broken the law.”
Some of the advice given by Reichardt included hiring a cat trap.
She said once the cat was in the trap, gardeners were advised to dip the entire trap in the swimming pool for a second or so or shower the trap with a stream of cold water.
This, in the opinion of the NSPCA, is a violation of the Animals Protection Act No 71 of 1962, Section 2.1.
Gardeners are also advised to get a dog to chase the cats.
However, Kuch asked: ”Does the dog know the difference between ‘chase’ and ‘attack’? There are humane and harmless ways of dealing with unwanted visitors to a garden.”
She said anyone following the advice could find him or herself being criminally prosecuted under the Animals Protection Act.
However, the editor of South African Gardening magazine, Kay Montgomery, on Tuesday said it was interesting that Reichardt had received the advice from the SPCA a decade ago.
Montgomery said the magazine believes in the freedom of free speech and often offers its readers advice on numerous issues.
However, she said: ”We endorse the law and stand by the NSPCA in the protection of animals.”
The SPCA movement was said to be monitoring the situation. — Sapa