Cape Town – Animal rights organisation Beauty Without Cruelty has offered a reward for information that could lead to the arrest of a Constantia resident who allegedly shot a female baboon in the area on Sunday.
The baboon was shot in the chest and was too severely wounded to be saved.
She was humanely euthanised.
Jenni Trethowan of Baboon Matters said volunteers who were on duty in the area said they heard a shot and then “awful sounds” and screams of a baboon in distress.
“Stalwart veteran for the baboons, Gerry Higgs, described how the injured female was trapped behind electric fences, so she and her colleague lowered a tree trunk onto the wall, enabling the critically injured female to slowly climb down to the troop. Gerry described how frantically Quinton, the alpha male of the troop, tried to defend his dying troop mate. What was told to me was absolutely heartbreaking – the pain and suffering was indescribable as each tortured breath of the dying female was heard. Eventually the poor girl was darted and sadly, but kindly, euthanised.”
“We hope that the killer will be prosecuted to the full limit of the law and that SAPS ensures the case is prosecuted,” said Trethowan.
Animal rights organisation, Beauty Without Cruelty, has offered a minimum of R3 000 reward to anyone who came forward with information.
“The unacceptable shooting of a female baboon in the southern suburbs of Cape Town this weekend is despicable. Over and above the lack of morals and ethics shown, firing a weapon in a residential area is also illegal,” they said.
This is a developing story.
Cape Times