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www.spcadbn.org.za DurbanJournal & Coast of the SPCA Durban & Coast SPCA December 2016 ISSUE CONTENTS PIGEON POST 4 EDITORIAL – Shirley Bell 6 PAWS FOR THOUGHT – Caroline Smith 8 PRECIOUS PETS 8 OUR INSPECTORATE (All in a Day’s Work) – Candice Sadayan 10 R341 DURBAN & COAST SPCA NEWS 14 R365 FEATURE - RESCUE OF CHAMELEONS FROM BUILDING SITE 18 R341 TOP UK GOLD MEDAL FOR BRAVE SOUTH AFRICAN DOG 18 OUR DURBAN & COAST SPCA HUMANE EDUCATION PROGRAMME 19 FEATURES 20 Let sleeping dogs lie! R205 Daisy ies home… First known live birth of IDENTICAL twin puppies SOCIAL MEDIA – Shirley Bell 22 Original Dirt Shirt Tel: 0861 762 766 Made From African Fax: 0861 762 767 Hand-printed An unexpected and precious moment captured by Brenda Pratt [email protected] in South Africa. in the Kruger National Park at Leokwe Camp, Mapungubwe. Visit our website for regular promotions. www.snapon.co.za Dyed with African Dirt. Calendar Competition: Highly commended images: Our ‘Paws for the Camera’ Competition created much interest, and we had many entries. Sadly, not everyone could be a winner. For reasons of composition or resolution, some of our favourite images did not make it inside the calendar, but we could not let them go unacknowledged. So here is a selection of the 'nearly made it' images. Better luck next year, guys! PART OF THE PROCESS Denise Barber Chazelle Keller Vera Taylor Dianne Swart Ava Nortje BMG does more than just supply a vast range of superior quality engineering components to all sectors of industry. We also provide the technical resources needed to keep machinery operating at an optimal level. We also care about animals! Visit your nearest SPCA and donate Tineke Quarmby Cheryl Smith Clare Parker Miranda Keller Yvonne Dupont or adopt rather than shop! Parts for every process. Part of yours. BRANCHES NATIONWIDE. Nicci Ramshaw Janet Muller Geoff Wellbeloved Lauren Stead Elaine Hudson 24hr Distribution & Service Toll-Free Branch Helpline: 0800 022 224 SEE PAGE 23 FOR MORE DETAILS ON HOW TO GET YOUR COPY OF THIS YEAR'S CALENDAR COVER: Judges’ choice for the 2016 ‘Paws for the Camera’ Competition "Frida and Louis live on a Midlands farm and are great companions on an early morning walk." Amelia Smith Editor Shirley Bell Designed by Flying Ant Designs Durban, (031) 702 6871 facebook.com/bmgworld @bmgworld www.bmgworld.net ISO 9001 Certified Printed by Pen Print Durban, (031) 312 6371 2 / The Animal Angle / December 2016 Visit our website www.spcadbn.org.za 3 BMG-SPCA11112016 14 November 2016 10:56:17 AM PIGEONPOST PIGEONPOST Smartphone app for missing pets Banning cruel sow crates under her arm. Lula was looking woebegone, covered in grass wild, but I make sure they have as much freedom as possible clippings, and tail dejectedly down. But both dogs were safe. in my apartment. After water and a rest, we left, feeling that there’s truly no place It is really important for birds to have company. All animals I wonder if readers are aware that there is now a Smartphone I was going through les and throwing out old articles when like home. have social needs. Those who are pets need a lot of love and app that aims to help owners nd lost pets. I came across an NSPCA Newsletter that reported that an Questions arose while I tried to gure out why the male attention and as much freedom of movement and variety of A Daily News item by Mphathi Nxumalo earlier in the year inspector from their Farm Animal Unit had inspected an sausage dog had attacked my little female Lula. I had been environment as it is possible to give. What they give in return states that Zoopa helps locate lost pets within a 50km radius of “intensive piggery in Gauteng” and found that some of the under the illusion that male dogs don’t normally attack female is love and endless trust. the user. It makes use of facial recognition software to identify sows con ned in these hellish devices had wounds from their dogs. And he had determinedly rushed her from so far away. Joan Ashworth, Berea lost animals. Pet owners are able to connect with one another futile efforts to turn around or move position. One sow had to She is always submissive and friendly, but he had decided and share information like breed of animal, age, colour and be euthanased. Several others received veterinary attention. that he couldn’t stand her even from a distance. Had we particular markings and whether there is a chip number. A “warning was issued”, this being part of the required Turning our rhino into commercial products encountered a doggy racist?! The app is available on iStore and Google Play Store. Other procedure. But why do we, the public, put up with things like It reminded me of something a famous family therapist said useful information for owners includes details of veterinary this? We have known about sow gestation crates for years, a long time ago: “You don’t have to do anything to be hated!” It is heartening to read that the SPCAs in our country have services, dog walkers, groomers and pet sitters. and we have a voice. A few have felt uncomfortable once they I thought of how well-functioning animals have their little responsibilities in some wildlife issues and not just for pets or Mandy Crerar of Kitten Action, which she founded in 1999, is found out about it. But the banning date was, at the request ‘getting to know you’ rituals, their cautious introductory sniffs, the small wildlife of our cities. Our rhino, elephants, lions and quoted in the article as saying that the strong point of the app of the pork industry, extended, while the NSPCA continued to their tail wags and body movements. And I wondered what many other animals, including bird species, are all vulnerable, is that it helps owners to “get out notices quickly when a pet demand that sow crates be banned by the end of 2016. kind of wordless messages we humans send out and what kind even though South African elephant numbers recently goes missing”. What is the matter with us? Surely we are beginning to see of message would work best for us if we knew. published seem to indicate some stability of numbers. A Randburg resident, Peter Loudon, who works with that public objection can actually get things done. Borders seem to mean little these days, whether crossed by Desi Halse, Berea computer software, said the facial recognition facility would be The piggery in question began to phase out sow crates desperate refugees or by ruthless poachers. Africa is particularly a real boon and would like to know how it actually works, since after the NSPCA warning and began to construct communal vulnerable, not only because borders are permeable, but it is relatively easy to create human facial recognition, but that enclosures for the sows. They reported that they hoped to The love that little creatures give because we have so many of the world’s most exciting species. recognising a pet’s face could be a bit more dif cult. have phased out sow crates in the piggery by the end of 2016. Unfortunately some of these species are admired not only Perhaps a reader with knowledge about this could inform us. The time is now upon us. I could not sleep the night before I wrote this and was still because they are so impressive, but because parts of their Hilary Ralph, Everton But what of the continuing cruelty to all the sows presently wide awake at two a.m. At about 4 a.m., I uncovered the birds bodies are desired by wealthy people, mainly in Asia, for being con ned in this totally unacceptable way? who have free range of my apartment and go into their cage reasons that boggle the mind because they are so superstitious when they choose to do so, which they always do at night. and ridiculous. Tanking of wild creatures Allie Porter, (by e-mail) They normally emerge only in the morning and were uncertain Greedy dealers, corrupt of cials and poachers, often driven about coming out in the dark, but they clambered out of their by a need to earn, all contribute to the killing of African rhino Dear Shirley When ‘discretion is the better part of valour’ cage when they had decided that all was well. and elephants, while wealthy hunters, seemingly mainly I read The Animal Angle this morning over my muesli I sat quietly listening to the bird 'songs' of Pretty Boy. He is American, enjoy killing young handsomely maned lions for and I love that your articles are not just reports, but have This is the story of how a clever little dog decided to use her struggling to get control over some of the words he is trying trophy reasons. wisdoms woven into them. discretion to ‘save her skin’. to learn, such as 'beautiful', which is dif cult because it just has Now we are increasingly hearing arguments for “sustainable I don't know why, but tanked animals have suddenly On a recent sunny afternoon, Lula, my Lhasa Abso, and I went too many different sounds for him. He is also struggling with use” by breeding rhino so that their horns can be cut off and become very important to me. Perhaps there has been a off for what we expected to be a pleasant stroll in the Botanic ‘gorgeous'. sold (leaving stumps that still “would make it worthwhile” for groundswell of consciousness that I am picking up.