Man locked up for animal cruelty

A CHINESE man living in Okahandja had to spend the weekend in jail after he was arrested and charged with animal cruelty.

The man, who was supposed to appear in court yesterday, paid an admission-of-guilt fine of N$200 and went home. The man has a business in Bahnhof Street in Okahandja, where he kept three German Shepherd dogs in an enclosure.Members of the public had complained several times to the Police about the conditions in which the dogs were kept.Last week, the complaints reached the SPCA in Windhoek.SPCA manager Barbara Lesar and assistant Eliaser Goaseb went to Okahandja on Friday to investigate the matter.When they arrived at the premises, the condition of the dogs was so horrendous that the SPCA inspectors obtained a search warrant from the local Magistrate and returned to the site accompanied by two Police officers.The owner of the business was arrested and locked up for the weekend.The enclosure where the dogs were kept was dirty and smelly; there was no shade and they had no food and only very little dirty water.One of the dogs was tied up and this nose was cut open by the razor wire around the enclosure, the SPCA inspectors said.Lesar said the complainants had mentioned three dogs but the SPCA could only find two and the owner would not say what had happened to the other one.”I have been with the SPCA since 2003 and this is the first time that we had a person arrested and charged,” said Lesar.”I’ve just had enough of people who think that they can do whatever they want to animals.”A person found guilty of cruelty to animals can receive a fine of N$4 000 or a one-year jail sentence.The man has a business in Bahnhof Street in Okahandja, where he kept three German Shepherd dogs in an enclosure.Members of the public had complained several times to the Police about the conditions in which the dogs were kept.Last week, the complaints reached the SPCA in Windhoek.SPCA manager Barbara Lesar and assistant Eliaser Goaseb went to Okahandja on Friday to investigate the matter.When they arrived at the premises, the condition of the dogs was so horrendous that the SPCA inspectors obtained a search warrant from the local Magistrate and returned to the site accompanied by two Police officers.The owner of the business was arrested and locked up for the weekend.The enclosure where the dogs were kept was dirty and smelly; there was no shade and they had no food and only very little dirty water.One of the dogs was tied up and this nose was cut open by the razor wire around the enclosure, the SPCA inspectors said.Lesar said the complainants had mentioned three dogs but the SPCA could only find two and the owner would not say what had happened to the other one.”I have been with the SPCA since 2003 and this is the first time that we had a person arrested and charged,” said Lesar.”I’ve just had enough of people who think that they can do whatever they want to animals.”A person found guilty of cruelty to animals can receive a fine of N$4 000 or a one-year jail sentence.