Cape Town– A Kensington man who used a pitbull to intimidate and rob a resident has been sentenced to six years in prison, in a case the Cape of Good Hope SPCA says exposes the brutal use of animals as tools for crime.
The incident occurred in July last year, while the complainant was seated in a park between 11th and 12th Avenue in Kensington.
JP Smith, Mayco member for safety and security, said the suspect initially walked past the complainant with a pitbull before returning moments later and demanding the complainant’s cellphone.
“The dog was used in the commission of the crime after the suspect directed it at the complainant in an intimidating manner.
“Community members assisted in identifying the suspect, who was known in the area for committing robberies using the dog as a weapon.”
According to Smith, the City’s law enforcement Animal Control Unit (ACU) played a critical role in removing the dog under the instruction of the prosecutor.
“Despite challenges in locating the suspect at home, officers made multiple attempts before successfully removing the animal, bringing an end to a series of robberies committed in and around Kensington.”
SPCA Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse has praised the coordinated efforts of police, prosecutors and the City’s Animal Control Unit, saying both the victim and the dog suffered at the hands of the offender.
“The dog is as much a victim as the complainant. Animals weaponised in this way are almost always the product of deliberate cruelty, isolation and provocation by their owners.”
Pieterse said dogs are not born to be weapons, but are shaped into becoming dangerous through human actions and abuse.
“A pitbull that can be directed at a stranger to intimidate and rob is a dog that has, in all likelihood, endured a life shaped by cruelty long before it was deployed in the commission of a crime.”
He explained that many dogs labelled as “dangerous” have endured severe abuse and deprivation that strips away their ability to behave as stable companion animals.
“Behind almost every “dangerous” dog is a history of isolation, chaining, withheld socialisation, deliberate provocation, harsh handling, hunger used as a tool of control, and the systematic suppression of every natural behaviour that allows a dog to live as a stable companion animal.”
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