The National Council of SPCA’s (NSPCA) has dismissed a social media post claiming to be from the government which offers a reward of R1500 for reporting houses with pit bulls.
The NSPCA said it noted a post regarding pit bulls that appears to be a scam.
The post was from an unverified government Twitter account and offers a reward of R1500 to anyone who reports the address of properties that are keeping pit bulls.
“The post is highly questionable given that it is from an unverified account and contains no contact information. It further contains no information as to why the pit bulls are being sought after to the point that a reward has been offered. The post places pit bulls and their owners at risk. If you have come across the post, please report it,” the NSPCA reported.
“Further to this, people are attempting to impersonate SPCA personnel and demanding that people hand their pit bulls over to them. This is a scam. The SPCA is not going door-to-door and demanding that people hand over their pit bulls.”
The NSPCA called for people to be vigilant and protect their animals.
“Please be vigilant and safe. Do not hand your animals to unknown people. If you can’t look after your animal for whatever reason, please take your animal to your local SPCA or animal welfare shelter directly.”
Meanwhile, there has been a push from the public and human rights groups calling for the ban of pit bulls as domestic pets due to increasing numbers of the dogs attacking people, with few deaths reported after the attacks.
More than 37 000 South Africans have signed the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation petition calling for the ban of pit bulls.
This comes after 10-year-old Storm Nuku was recently killed by his family’s pit bull in Gqeberha.
Source: Times Live, IOL, Daily Sun,