A sad day for cats and dogs
2009-09-03
Sieb Sieberhagen
THE municipal dump has been dubbed the “dump of shame” after a shocked Wellington resident discovered two huge piles of dead animals which had been left uncovered. One heap had at least 30 carcasses of dead dogs and cats, said Sieg Kröger. They were tossed in a heap amongst other discarded veterinary waste, together with household and garden refuse. Animals which have been put down, are legally dumped there by the SPCA and veterinary clinics. Said Dr Emile du Plessis of the Market Street Animal Hospital, “We want an explanation from the Drakenstein Municipality. What happened there? “We have an agreement that the carcasses will be buried in a specific spot allocated for this purpose. We pay a fee for this service.” Dr Albert van Rooyen of the Wellington Animal Hospital said that he had visited the dumping site after hearing of the incident and saw that the roads leading to the allocated site were not roadworthy after the rains. “This specific incident happened after an operator at the site told my driver to dump the carcasses on a site that was not normally used. “He did not argue and thought that the operator would bury the carcasses immediately. But it did not happen. “In the past there used to be a large trench, kept permanently open for the bodies of animals, which were immediately covered with soil when disposed of. “In the rainy season this trench was always full of water and we could not dispose the carcasses into the water. “We then decided that the dead animals would get buried out of the sight of the general public. The operator digs a hole, the animals are disposed of and immediately covered with soil.” On the day Kröger made this discovery he asked a nearby bulldozer-operator why this trench practice had not been applied in this case. The operator replied that his boss had said that this was too expensive, so they should stop doing it. According to a municipal spokesperson the animals are normally buried on the same day they are delivered. On the day Kröger visited the site, the burial had been delayed due to wet conditions. An option of having the animals incinerated, will be discussed with veterinarians.
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