Cape Talk interview. Please LISTEN our stance is clear. And we will stand by our call to hold those who have not done their job and enforced the law, and those who irresponsibly own, breed and re-home dogs with unstable temperaments to account. They have risked human lives and caused harm to good owners and dogs. “These dogs have become too popular and too easy to acquire… Those who are tasked with enforcing the law have decided not to… You are legally responsible for anything your dog does… If your dog mauls somebody, it’s a criminal offence!” PBFSA “It is time that the SA government imposes a complete ban on the ownership of pit bulls as domestic animals,” reads the petition. Clarence Ford interviews Sizwe Kupelo of the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation and Lins Rautenbach of the Pit Bull Federation of South Africa. A petition to ban South Africans from having pit bulls as pets is gaining momentum. The petition follows a horrific attack in Gqerberha recently in which 10-year-old Storm Nuku was killed by his family’s two pit bulls. A muzzled pit bull Enough is enough! We cannot wait for another death… We are pleased with the response to our petition… We call on South Africans to… sign the petition… South Africans are tired of this breed… Sizwe Kupelo The Sizwe Kupelo Foundation wrote to Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza, asking her to impose a complete ban on the ownership of pit bulls as domestic animals. The Foundation is also calling for the castration of male dogs and the sterilisation of female pit bulls. Countries, where the ownership of pit bulls is banned, include Russia, Finland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Portugal, parts of Germany, parts of China, parts of Brazil and parts of Australia. “We cannot continue losing young people like Storm Nuku to these vicious dogs that have shown time and again that they should not be kept as pets,” said the foundation founder Sizwe Kupelo. “May young Storm Nuku rest in perfect peace.” Not everyone is in support of an outright ban on owning a pit bull, with some listeners arguing that owners should be held responsible and that other breeds can also be problematic. It is 100% the owner’s fault… If we start castrating, sterilising, and banning those breeds, we might as well do it to any other breed… A German Shepard is just as likely to snap… There are responsible pit bull owners! Listener The Pit Bull Federation of South Africa says an outright ban on owning a pit bull would not be effective as people would just adopt a different aggressive breed. It cautions people against buying a pit bull. These dogs have become too popular and too easy to acquire… Those who are tasked with enforcing the law have decided not to… You are legally responsible for anything your dog does… If your dog mauls somebody, it’s a criminal offence! Lins Rautenbach, Pit Bull Federation of South Africa RELATED: You can’t rehabilitate a dog’s aggression – Pit Bull Federation of SA In some of the pictures we have received; you cannot recognise the victim. There is nothing left! The amount of soft tissue and bone trauma these dogs inflict is something horrific… This little boy’s body looked like roadkill… Lins Rautenbach, Pit Bull Federation of South Africa

On 17 October 2022 the PBFSA and the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation held talks to find an amicable solution going forward. Our common goal is the same, to end maulings and bring about accountability for those whos dogs are maiming and killing people. The foundation will continue with its current campaign, but further talks will take place. We have endeavoured to work towards a fair and sustainable solution for all and we will keep our followers and the public updated as progress is made. In the meantime we urge pit bull owners to heed what we have said in our podcasts, our news outlet articles and on our face book page. Your conduct on social media going forward, your willingness to change your mindset, your conduct as dog owners and your being willing to accept that there are bad dogs and bad owners, will largely determine your dogs future. There is no longer room for ” what aboutisms”, there is no longer room for excuses, justifications and ego. If there is to be a way forward that serves all and that gives hope, you all will need to step out of your individual bubbles and accept what got us to this point, and commit to working with us to make sure the carnage stops, and that lives both human and animals can be preserved. Change is never comfortable, but you have to realise that what has always happened or been promoted or done was destructive and needs to end. We STRONGLY urge ALL Pit Bull owners to stop speculating as to what is or is not happening, but to rather calm down, reflect on what we have been saying and realise how very serious the situation in South Africa really is. We urge you to not attack anyone on FB, we implore you to remain civil and to control your emotions. We are here because the actions of certain people and sectors of society became reckless and paid no regard to lives.

Formal and final statement, until further notice, from the PBFSA with regards to the calls for breed bans. It has been brought to the attention of the PBFSA that there are individuals who are stating that the PBFSA is in support of banning the Pit Bull, we catagorically state that this is not true, and we urge anyone who is being told this to reach out to us instead of lending ears to rumour mongers, many of which are in fact guilty of actions that got us to the point where society feels so unsafe that breed bans have been called for. Be assured we are already working on this, but we will not give further details until everything is in place. The information that is public is what you need to know right now. The PBFSA is committed to finding a solution that benefits the pit bull, the responsible owner, the ethical responsible rescuer, the preservation breeder, but more importantly society as a whole. Please remember that while we are against breed bans, we are empathetic to those who are falling victim to a broken justice system and the actions of problematic dogs, irresponsible owners, reckless rescuers and those mass breeding pit bulls. End.