Latest news with #AnimalProtectionAct
CTV News
26-05-2025
- CTV News
N.S. woman banned from owning new animals after allowing 15 rabbits to ‘be in distress'
A woman has been sentenced for allowing 15 rabbits to be in distress, under Nova Scotia's Animal Protection Act. Karie Pye, 46, of Fletchers Lake, N.S., is prohibited from owning any new animals for six years and must make a $50 donation to the Nova Scotia SPCA. Pye is allowed to maintain custody of her four cats, but she must abide by terms and conditions for their care, including inspection rights for the SPCA. The sentence comes after SPCA officers found 15 rabbits 'living in unsanitary and poor conditions' following an animal cruelty complaint in early 2023. They later seized the animals after the owner failed to follow through on orders to improve their living conditions. 'Owning an animal comes with responsibilities to care for them,' said Kevin Strooband, chief inspector for the Nova Scotia SPCA, in a news release Monday. 'Clean water, food, shelter, and veterinary medical care are required; this is taken seriously in our province. Pet owners are encouraged to reach out for assistance before it becomes too overwhelming.' The Nova Scotia SPCA has the authority to investigate, lay charges, seize animals and issue orders related to animal cruelty and neglect under the Animal Protection Act and relevant sections of the Criminal Code. The charitable organization says it helped 24,000 pets in 2024. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Daily Maverick
22-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
‘It's a calling… someone has to do it' — NSPCA inspector on why she endures the danger and the heartbreak
Being an NSPCA inspector is a calling and not for the faint-hearted, as Sparky Moseki can attest, working in a landscape of legal loopholes, cultural clashes and sometimes dangerous confrontations. It's 6am and Sparky Moseki is somewhere between a city and the dustier edges of South Africa, heading to a property no one wants to see, to deal with something no one wants to face. 'You never really know what's waiting for you when you arrive,' she says. 'People think the NSPCA is just cats and dogs, but you'd be amazed. We deal with everything. Dogs, snakes, seals, livestock on ships, smuggled animals at borders, you name it.' Moseki is a senior inspector in the NSPCA's Special Projects Unit and with every rescue, every raid, every inspection, she carries something heavy: the look in an animal's eyes. 'You know when you see a dog that's been starved so long it can't stand up? And it looks at you like… please. Please help me. That's what stays with you.' For Moseki, this isn't a job. It's a mission. It's a calling. And it's heartbreak, over and over again. 'It's the law and it's people' Moseki's journey began at the University of Northwest, where she studied animal health. 'I always knew I wanted to work with animals,' she says. After a short stint at a vet practice in Johannesburg, fate nudged her towards the SPCA movement. 'That was 15 years ago, and here I am.' She's now a key figure in the Special Projects Unit – a team that operates in some of the most legally and ethically complex parts of animal welfare. 'We're the unit that deals with border control, checking for illegal animal trafficking. We inspect police dogs, prison dogs, private security dogs. We respond to cruelty reports. We monitor live exports. We handle dog fighting, illegal hunting, even tail docking.' She pauses. 'Every day is different. And some days it's overwhelming.' You're sitting there rewinding a video of someone stabbing a zebra, trying to spot a landmark, a licence plate. It wears you down. Unlike a vet's clean, clinical space, Moseki works in a landscape of legal loopholes, cultural clashes and sometimes dangerous confrontations. 'People don't always welcome you. You show up and it's 'why are you here? Who sent you? Get off my property.'' But the law is clear. 'Every animal in South Africa is protected under the Animal Protection Act. We're authorised to ensure their welfare. But if we're denied access? We have to go to court for a warrant. And I've never had a magistrate refuse us.' Still, paperwork is one thing. Reality is another. 'Sometimes you sit waiting hours for a police escort because the station has no vehicle, or you're walking into hostile situations, people threatening you. You have to stay calm. You have to stay focused on why you're there.' Asked what keeps her going, Moseki doesn't hesitate. 'It's a calling. You don't do this for money. You do it because you care, because someone has to.' People think we show up and take animals away and that's it. But they don't see the mental load, the emotional toll. It's a philosophy that's been tested, especially when she faces cruelty so severe it feels impossible to process. She tells the story of inspecting a live export ship in the Eastern Cape. 'That morning, we arrived and the rams' horns had been cut off too close to their heads. Blood everywhere. Animals were trapped. Crushed. It was a nightmare. We'd left them the night before and came back the next morning to this horror.' She shakes her head. 'You never forget that. Never.' And then there are the decisions. The impossible ones. The ones that tear you up no matter how many times you've made them. 'Sometimes the kindest thing you can do is euthanise,' she says quietly. 'When you look at an animal and know: nothing can save you. You've suffered enough. You deserve peace.' It's a burden few outsiders understand. 'People think we show up and take animals away and that's it,' she says. 'But they don't see the mental load, the emotional toll.' We're here to make sure no animal suffers in silence. That's why I wake up every morning. Even fear hasn't stopped Moseki. 'I was scared of snakes,' she admits, laughing. 'Couldn't even touch one. Then I got a call about a python, and I thought, I have to do this.' So afterwards she learnt and even completed a snake-handling course. 'Now? I can handle them no problem.' It's a theme in her work: confronting what others avoid. Whether it's snakes, smuggling operations or cruelty cases, Moseki faces it head-on. 'Someone has to. Someone has to be there for the animals.' Social media makes it worse – and better One thing that's changed in recent years is the rise of cruelty shared online. 'We get videos sent to us – WhatsApp, Facebook – people torturing animals, animals forced to fight, killing wildlife. And we have to watch them, over and over, to identify places, people.' She sighs. 'That's the part people don't think about. You're sitting there rewinding a video of someone stabbing a zebra, trying to spot a landmark, a licence plate. It wears you down.' But it also helps. 'People are sharing more, reporting more. So in a way, social media's made it harder for us, but also better for animals.' After 15 years, Moseki has complicated feelings about people. 'Some are cruel for fun. Some do it for clicks. Some do it because they've fallen on hard times and can't care for their animals anymore.' She pauses. 'But then you see the other side. People who rescue. People who care. People who feed stray animals from their own empty pockets.' She believes education is key. 'The more we're out there, the more people understand what cruelty really is. And maybe that means less cruelty in the long run.' At home, Moseki's world is quieter. She has a dog – a cross-breed border collie with heart. 'When I look into her eyes, I think, how could anyone hurt something that trusts you like this?' Her children share her passion. 'My youngest wants to be an inspector too. The older one wants to be a lawyer to advocate for animals. They see what I do. They've grown up knowing this is important.' She's lasted. And she'll keep lasting. 'At the end of the day,' she says, 'we're here to make sure no animal suffers in silence. That's why I wake up every morning. That's why I go out there. Even when it's hard. Even when it breaks me a little.' DM This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
Korea Herald
21-05-2025
- Korea Herald
Authorities probe potential serial dog abandonment in Gangnam: report
19 dogs found discarded in Gangnam, southern Seoul, over just three days South Korean authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with serial dog abandonment, after 19 discarded dogs were discovered in Gangnam, southern Seoul, last month, local media reported Wednesday. Between April 5 and April 7, residents of Daechi-dong and Yeoksam-dong in Gangnam discovered the dogs scattered in their neighborhoods — in streets, alleys and parking lots. All the animals appeared to have been severely neglected, with overgrown, matted fur and signs of poor hygiene. None of the male dogs had been neutered, according to officials. As of Wednesday, most of the dogs had been adopted into new homes, authorities said. Korean-language newspaper Edaily reported that officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Government identified a suspect after analyzing surveillance camera footage, though the suspect has denied responsibility. Officials of the Gangnam-gu Office, who requested a probe, reportedly said that the case may be the work of a single person, given that the abandoned dogs were mostly of the same breed and had been discarded when government workers were off-duty. The investigation, led by Seoul's special judicial police officers — civil servants appointed by the prosecution and granted limited investigative authority under its supervision — is exploring the possibility that the case is linked to animal hoarding, according to Edaily. Animal hoarding involves the accumulation of a large number of animals without the capacity to adequately care for them, often resulting in neglect, poor health conditions and, in some cases, abuse. Under South Korea's Animal Protection Act, such conduct constitutes animal cruelty and is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won ($21,600).
Eyewitness News
18-05-2025
- Eyewitness News
Man who abused dog (now safe) banned from owning animals for life
A Cape Town animal abuser has been handed a lifetime pet ownership ban, after his continued cruelty towards his dog was picked up by the SPCA. 'Jack's suffering has finally been acknowledged in a court of law', says the Cape of Good Hope SPCA. The organisation rescued Jack from what it says was a life of starvation, confinement, and neglect. His owner, a 76-year-old Grassy Park resident pleaded guilty to three counts under the Animal Protection Act. Aside from the animal ownership ban, the man has also been fined R8,000 or 8 months in jail half-suspended, and ordered to repay R5,000 to the Cape SPCA towards Jack's care. Inspectors had intervened in September last year, rescuing Jack who they found was underweight, anaemic, infested with parasites, and secured by a chain that was so tight it caused a wound that encircled his neck. The dog, now called Frankie, is safe - but he is waiting for a loving home again after his first adoption didn't work out.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
67 Dogs Rescued from Grim Fate at Dog Meat Farm — with Help from 'Wheel of Time' Star Daniel Henney
Humane World for Animals rescued 67 dogs from a dog meat farm in Cheongju, South Korea, that closed down after years in operation for breaching the Animal Protection Act Actor David Henney was part of the effort, helping the dogs from cages into travel crates for transport to the United States The February 2025 rescue was special because it's the charity's first since South Korea's dog meat ban was passed; it officially goes into effect in 2027Humane World for Animals helped save 67 dogs from a dog meat farm that closed down due to cruelty violations — and actor Daniel Henney was part of the rescue team. Earlier this year, authorities shut down the farm in Cheongju, South Korea — where the owner had been breeding dogs and serving their meat in his restaurant for 40 years — for breaching the Animal Protection Act, according to the charity (formerly Humane Society International). As the owner transitioned to chili farming before South Korea's dog meat ban goes into effect in 2027, volunteers with Humane World for Animals stepped in to relocate the animals on the farm — which included newborn puppies and pregnant dogs, the charity said. And Henney — a longtime advocate for Humane World for Animals' campaign to end the dog meat trade — joined the effort to save and relocate the dogs, who were mostly Jindo-mixes, to the United States. Photos and footage of the February 2025 rescue show volunteers, including The Wheel of Time star, 45, helping dogs out of their cages and becoming visibly emotional. 'They're not even eating their food, they just want love,' he said of the canines in one clip. The Criminal Minds alum not only helped move the dogs to travel kennels for transport, but also toured the rest of the farm, pointing out that the owner seemingly killed the dogs in front of their caged companions. At one point, he also pointed out to another volunteer that there were still visible 'blood stains" on a cutting board. The Big Hero 6 actor also accompanied 50 of the 67 pups — some of whom have deformed bones caused by nutritional deficiency — to Incheon International Airport, where he and other volunteers waved them off, provided food and water and penned well-wishes inside their crates. The animals later arrived at Humane World for Animals' rehabilitation center in Maryland, where they will receive veterinary care before relocating and being placed up for adoption, the charity said. The other 17 will join them in the U.S. when they are old enough to make the journey. 'As a huge dog lover, and dad to a dog meat farm survivor, it was incredibly challenging to see the suffering of these dogs who have endured so much,' Henney said in an official statement about his time on the farm. The actor and his wife Ru Kumagai are the proud pet parents to Juliette, whom they rescued from the South Korea dog meat trade in 2020. 'It makes me all the prouder to have supported Humane World for Animals' successful campaign to achieve a ban because it means no more dogs like these will suffer like this again,' Henney's statement continued. 'South Korea is embracing a new chapter where dogs are our friends, not food, and that couldn't make me more thrilled." The actor concluded by stating that he is "looking forward to following the journey of these dogs as they find their forever homes in the United States and put the dog meat industry behind them." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Sangkyung Lee, the campaign manager for Humane World for Animals Korea, also noted that this rescue feels different, as farms like the one in Cheongju are being phased out with the dog meat ban on the horizon. 'In all the years our charity has been rescuing dogs from these dog meat farms, this is the first time we have done so knowing that a ban is finally consigning this terrible suffering to the history books,' Lee said in a statement. 'That's an amazing feeling. While the law is successfully dismantling the dog meat industry, we are happy to be able to provide a bright future for the dogs on this farm." "For them, the dog meat industry is over," he concluded, "and they have nothing but soft beds, full bellies and lots of love ahead of them.' Read the original article on People
