SPCA to investigate Tshwane man who threatened to beat dog
In a clip posted on X, user @pookiepolls posted a clip filmed by a Johannesburg man who had raised concerns about his neighbour, who had threatened to beat his dog.
The neighbour launched a profanity-filled rant in response. He said, 'How is it any of your business? It's not your dog….When you hear my dog screaming next time, you shut your mouth! I'm going to go there and beat it again, because it's my business, it's my dog.'
The clip has been widely shared on the X platform, and many South Africans have raised concerns about the animal's welfare.
The NSPCA responded to several X posts stating that the Tshwane branch would investigate the man.
The SPCA has repeatedly warned the public that animal abusers can be criminally charged under the Animals Protection Act (APA) 71 of 1962.
The act – which was established to prevent the cruelty of animals – stipulates that those found guilty can face a fine or imprisonment.
Offenders can also face a denial of ownership – preventing them from owning animals – as well as a criminal conviction.
According to the SPCA, the APA makes provisions for individuals who also infuriate or terrify animals.
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But when I said, 'just leave my bag', they pulled the trigger. What they wanted was not my possessions — it was my silence. They could not stomach the audacity of someone like me asking for more than mere survival. And that is exactly where South Africa finds itself now. We've said: Take your trade deals — we'll still talk peace. We've said: We'll engage with China — but we'll also remain open to the West. We've said: We are non-aligned — not hostile. But when we asked for our bag — our voice, our dignity, our seat at the table of global justice — they reached for sanctions. And now the gun is cocked. This is the real danger The true threat is not sanctions — it's amnesia. Forgetting that our democracy was not a donation from the West, but the fruit of blood, prayer, protest and sacrifice. The danger is mistaking pressure for partnership. It's believing our legitimacy is measured by how well we echo Washington's voice. Let the record show: when we were fighting apartheid, they said, 'Not yet.' When we fight for Palestinian lives, they say: 'Not you.' We will not die quietly That night, I should have died. But I didn't. And neither will this democracy. So let the gun be cocked. Let the threats fly. We will not trade dignity for convenience. We will not barter sovereignty for appeasement. We will not be pawns in someone else's game. And we will not die quietly — not in the street.
