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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Last week it was a dog in Durban now it's a Baboon in the Cape...
A Wilderness man, who trapped a baboon in a wire cage and then fired about 20 shots into the desperate animal, has been arrested.
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The baboon apparently survived for more than two hours after it had been shot, but had to be put down.
"When you witness something like that it makes you lose faith in humanity. It was so grotesque. He just kept pummelling it with bullets," said Jeff Dennett, a neighbour who notified the police. Dennett, who lives on Map of Africa Road, said he heard gunshots coming from his neighbour's property about 4.45pm on Friday. "I ran over and saw he had trapped the baboon in a cage using bread as bait."
"When you witness something like that it makes you lose faith in humanity. It was so grotesque. He just kept pummelling it with bullets," said Jeff Dennett, a neighbour who notified the police. Dennett, who lives on Map of Africa Road, said he heard gunshots coming from his neighbour's property about 4.45pm on Friday. "I ran over and saw he had trapped the baboon in a cage using bread as bait."
Dennett, fearing for his life as he said the man appeared "crazed", grabbed the man and tried to wrest the gun away from him.
"He had shot the poor thing at least 20 times with a .22 calibre gun. I ran back home to get my cellphone to phone the police and he just kept shooting. He was oblivious to the fact that what he was doing was wrong. "He shot it in the face, chest, neck. The gun wasn't powerful enough to kill the animal outright, or maybe he wasn't shooting properly. There was blood everywhere."
Dennett phoned the SPCA and the police. By about 5.30pm, the man had stopped shooting the baboon. The police soon arrested the man, while the SPCA assessed the baboon's vital signs, said Dennett.
Salome Botha, a senior inspector with the SPCA, said the animal had been enraged. "It was sitting there bleeding; it had so many holes in its body. He was trying to get out and couldn't and this guy kept shooting. He shot it in the nose and all over except in the brain. Maybe if he just shot it properly it wouldn't have suffered."
But the ordeal was not over: "We had to wait until about 7pm, while the baboon was still alive in the cage. The police were too distraught and too affected to shoot the animal themselves, and had to call a professional hunter who put the animal out of its misery," said Dennett.
It is believed the gunman, who could not be named at the time of going to press, appeared in court yesterday and has only been charged with firing a gun in a residential area.
SPCA chief executive Allan Perrins confirmed the incident and said violence towards baboons would only exacerbate any problems with the animals. "He should have called authorities who would have relocated the animal or at least dealt with the problem in a far more humane manner.
"The problem is, when you take out a baboon, you upset the hierarchy. He can expect mayhem on his property in the next few weeks."
"He had shot the poor thing at least 20 times with a .22 calibre gun. I ran back home to get my cellphone to phone the police and he just kept shooting. He was oblivious to the fact that what he was doing was wrong. "He shot it in the face, chest, neck. The gun wasn't powerful enough to kill the animal outright, or maybe he wasn't shooting properly. There was blood everywhere."
Dennett phoned the SPCA and the police. By about 5.30pm, the man had stopped shooting the baboon. The police soon arrested the man, while the SPCA assessed the baboon's vital signs, said Dennett.
Salome Botha, a senior inspector with the SPCA, said the animal had been enraged. "It was sitting there bleeding; it had so many holes in its body. He was trying to get out and couldn't and this guy kept shooting. He shot it in the nose and all over except in the brain. Maybe if he just shot it properly it wouldn't have suffered."
But the ordeal was not over: "We had to wait until about 7pm, while the baboon was still alive in the cage. The police were too distraught and too affected to shoot the animal themselves, and had to call a professional hunter who put the animal out of its misery," said Dennett.
It is believed the gunman, who could not be named at the time of going to press, appeared in court yesterday and has only been charged with firing a gun in a residential area.
SPCA chief executive Allan Perrins confirmed the incident and said violence towards baboons would only exacerbate any problems with the animals. "He should have called authorities who would have relocated the animal or at least dealt with the problem in a far more humane manner.
"The problem is, when you take out a baboon, you upset the hierarchy. He can expect mayhem on his property in the next few weeks."
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