Foundation demands the banning of pit bulls in South Africa and 8 other Countries
The Sizwe Kupelo Foundation recently handed a petition over to Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, demanding a ban on pit bulls as domestic pets in South Africa.
The petition, signed by over 130 000 people, “comes as other countries, [such as] Russia, Finland, Denmark, the UK, Portugal and parts of Germany, parts of China, parts of Brazil and parts of Australia are also in the process of banning or [implementing] restrictions on ownership of the breed or its importation.”
The lobby group stated that pit bull owners’ defence of the breed’s attack on humans was largely that these attacks were due to how a dog had been raised, and not the breed itself. However, according to the lobby group, this did not hold water, and a ban was needed to “prevent further attacks and unnecessary deaths”.
In response to the petition, Didiza said that government was working to resolve issues with this type of breed. The work included a comprehensive DNA analysis of pit bull and pit bull-type dogs, to assist with the correct identification of problem animals unique to South Africa, and to assist in identifying the pit bull and pit bull-type dogs that could be developed through indiscriminate crossbreeding.
The department was also working with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to amend the Animal Matters Amendment Act of 1993 to ensure that citizens were protected from any harm caused by animals and that owners of such animals were held accountable for damages.
