By Buziwe Nocuze
- An SPCA driver escaped after gunmen tried to hijack his van while he was transporting four cats and twelve dogs.
- The SPCA will restart services in Khayelitsha with metro police escorts after pulling out due to the rising danger to staff.
An SPCA inspector had to race for his life, and for the lives of the animals in his van, after two armed hijacking attempts in Khayelitsha.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has pulled its mobile clinic out of the Cape Town township because it is too dangerous for staff to operate there.
A driver, who asked not to be named, said he was surrounded by armed men while returning from the animal hospital. In the back of the vehicle were four cats and twelve dogs that had just been sterilised.
“One gunman stood in front of my van. The other came to my window. I thought about my family and the animals. Then I sped off,” he said.
Nolitha Sabela, a local resident, said it was no surprise.
“Everyone knows Khayelitsha is bad. If criminals can hijack a bus carrying disabled kids, what’s stopping them from taking an animal van? The SPCA should ask the City for an escort.”
The SPCA has now taken that advice.
Spokesperson Belinda Abraham said: “Crime threatens human lives, and now it has robbed animals of vital care. Our mobile clinics were the only way many pets could get vaccinations, sterilisation and parasite treatment.”
She said staff risk their lives to serve poor communities, and their safety must come first.
But thanks to the help from the City of Cape Town, the service is now coming back.
“Metro Police and Law Enforcement will escort our mobile team, so we’ll be back in Khayelitsha tomorrow,” said Abraham.
Pictured above: SPCA withdraws services in Khayelitsha after two armed hijacking attempts.
Image source: SPCA
