Painful: Dog chews young boy. Vuyo Zungula, the leader of the African Transformation Movement (ATM), has advocated for the outlawing of pit bulls in their whole in South Africa.
This comes after a string of attacks by pit bulls, most of which were committed against youngsters.
The most recent attack happened on Sunday in Vista Park, Free State, and involved a young boy who was just eight years old. It has been reported that the police in Vista Park were forced to put an end to the life of the pit bull by shooting it to death after it allegedly scaled the fence and attacked the youngster who was playing in his yard.
A significant number of people who utilize social media have also been advocating for the elimination of pit bulls.
Zungula said that owners and communities had a responsibility to protect children because they were the primary victims of pit bull attacks. He cited countries such as the Netherlands, Poland, France, Germany, New Zealand, Denmark, Australia, and Italy as examples of nations that have banned the breeding of pit bulls.
“We have one duty to do as a community, and that is to guard the nation’s children and grandchildren (the children). The practice of raising pit bulls as pets does not contribute in any way to the realization of this objective. There have already been an unacceptable number of deaths. It is time to rise up and be counted. These animals have no place in the community in which we live “Zungula stated.
This week, more than 49 pit bull owners brought their dogs to the SPCA in Bloemfontein to have them taken care of, according to the organization.
In recent weeks and months, it has been increasingly frequent for users of social media to report on deaths that were caused by pit bulls. A pit bull owned by the family of a Gqeberha child who was 10 years old was responsible for the boy’s death in September. According to the police, the victim, who was 10 years old, and two other children were inside their home at the time of the incident.
According to Priscilla Naidu, a spokesman for the Eastern Cape police, the kid passed away as a result of his injuries at the site. After receiving the call, the police arrived at the scene and killed both of the dogs that were inside the house.
In the wake of the tragedy, the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation issued a statement demanding an immediate ban on the keeping of pit bulls as household pets in South Africa.
The Pitbull Federation of South Africa stated that its members gathered for a meeting to reach a decision after hearing requests for the country to prohibit the ownership of dogs of this type.
“If we are going to take any type of action, we will need to be able to back up our allegations, which will represent every responsible pit bull and pit bull-cross owner. Many people are unaware that we have a database that has been operational for many years and that we currently have many responsible owners on there who do not breed or show their animals “as stated by the federation.