The North West owner of 10 lions that killed a boy has offered to sell two of the animals to compensate the child’s family, the province said on Thursday.
North West agriculture, conservation and environment minister Mandlenkosi Mayisela said Tommy van Vuuren realised money — about R700 000 — could not make up for the loss of a life. ”But he has offered to sell a male and a female lion and the money accrued would go to the mother.”
Nine-year-old Tshepo Gaerupe was killed by the lions on a farm near Vryburg. The lions apparently grabbed the boy and pulled him into their enclosure after he put his hand through a gap near the entrance gate.
Only a piece of the boy’s skull remained after the incident on June 17.
Mayisela said his department confiscated the lions on Tuesday after receiving a report on a three-week investigation conducted at the farm. ”Firstly, the report said that Mr Van Vuuren did not have a valid permit; it actually expired. Two, the infrastructure was not up to what was required, specifically with regard to the gate where the boy was grabbed,” he said.
The gate should have had electric fencing as well as ordinary fencing.
On Wednesday, Van Vuuren lodged an application at the Mmabatho High Court demanding that the lions be returned to him. The court found in his favour, based on an old ordinance used by the department to confiscate the animals.
”The judge noted an element of unconstitutionality in one of the ordinances we were using and ordered that the lions be returned [to the farmer],” Mayisela said.
Van Vuuren then offered to pay the cost of transporting the animals back to the farm, if the department paid the veterinary costs of darting them. He also offered the price of the two lions to the family.
Mayisela said as far as the department is concerned the only outstanding issue is Van Vuuren’s permit, or lack thereof. He will have to apply for a permit. If it is rejected, the lions will be put down. ”I cannot say at this stage whether the application will be approved or disapproved,” he said.
A week after the incident, Van Vuuren improved the fencing around the enclosure and applied for a renewal of his permit, which expired earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the Wildlife Unit of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals called on Thursday for the ”welfare of the lions involved in the tragic killing” of Gaerupe to be considered.
”In addition to the repeated use of tranquillising drugs is the stress of transporting wild animals,” said spokesperson Alistair Sinclair. — Sapa