We, the KAPVINUM team, endeavour to keep you up to date not only about wine, but also about what is happening in South Africa in general.
Through the Hillcrest Winery from Durbanville, which is also listed in our online shop with fantastic wines, we got to know and love "Saartjie", the little Jack Russell lady. "Saartjie" is the loyal soul of our winemaker Arno Smith, after whom he named his excellent wines. We were deeply shocked when we learnt from our South African friends that almost 1000 dogs are poisoned every week in South Africa, causing them to suffer a painful and agonising death.
In one night, 40 dogs were poisoned in Roodepoort, in the province of Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg.
In South Africa, most "masters" allow their beloved four-legged friends access to the garden or property, even at night. This allows them to chase away any uninvited guests and prevent a break-in or robbery.
Meanwhile, the burglars used the poison aldicarb, which is popularly known as "two-stage". "Two-stage" because a living creature can usually only take two more steps after being poisoned before it dies. Burglars, for example, mix the poison into minced meat to throw it to dogs and poison them by ingesting it.
A large dog has a chance of survival if its "master" finds it within 20 minutes and takes it to the veterinary clinic immediately. Smaller dogs die in agony after about 5 minutes as they suffer paralysis and then suffocate.
The poison "Aldicarb" is a black granular substance and is used in some pesticides. Aldicarb is banned in many parts of Europe and can no longer be legally purchased in South Africa. However, it is smuggled across the Zimbabwean border by criminal syndicates.
The poison is then sold illegally in dubious supermarkets, packaged in small plastic bags, or at taxi ranks.
Some animal welfare organisations, as well as the South African police, are now turning to the general public to make the owners of the four-legged friends aware of the danger. At the same time, they want to appeal to people's sense that dogs should at least stay in their homes at night. This way, they could still "strike" in the event of an attempted break-in and alert their "master", who can then inform the police immediately. This would prevent a break-in and also save an animal's life!!!