Despite all the sweat and strain of tackling a marathon inside an unusual costume, two determined animal activists reached the finish line and achieved their goal of raising R42 000 for the Cape of Good Hope SPCA on Sunday, 24 May.
The pair took part in the 42,2 km Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, dressed in an SPCA rescue vehicle costume, to help fund real rescue vehicles and raise awareness for animal needs on the road.
The activists, Muhammed Asgar Dalvie and Muhammad Sanglay, launched the “Put Some Petrol in Our Tank” campaign to raise R42 000 for the Cape of Good Hope SPCA — the amount needed to fuel one SPCA Inspectorate vehicle for a full year.
Dalvie hails from Lansdowne, while Sanglay is from Rondebosch East.
The campaign highlighted the critical role SPCA Inspectorate vehicles play in responding to cases of animal cruelty, neglect and emergencies across communities, according to SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham.
This year, the pair found the marathon “harder than expected,” said Sanglay.
“We were forced to drop the costume at the halfway mark. The weight of the costume started to take a heavy toll on our shoulders, which affected our running pace.”
The pair made a calculation at the halfway mark and realised they could not finish the race under the cut-off time based on their pace at the time.
“We were successful in reaching our fundraising target, which was our main objective from the start,” Sanglay explained.
“The Cape of Good Hope SPCA investigates more than 10 000 animal cruelty complaints annually across a service area spanning approximately 3 200 km²,” said Abraham.
“Every cruelty investigation, rescue, confiscation and emergency response depends on inspectorate vehicles reaching animals in need.”
Every rand the pair raises helps keep the SPCA’s inspectors on the road.
The SPCA said its inspectors remain on standby 24 hours a day throughout the year, but without fuel they cannot reach animals in distress.
For more information on the SPCA email spokesperson Belinda Abraham at comms@ spca-ct.co.za.
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