Deputy Director at Department of Agriculture honours Khayelitsha residents with a personal visit

Dr Siegfried Meyer, Deputy Director for Animal Health at the National Department of Agriculture in Pretoria discusses how best to improve the way we treat animals with Mr Thabani (Joe) Mangcu and his wife, Mrs Nosiseko Mangcu. Special bread was baked in honour of Dr Meyer’s visit to their home in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, on 15th November this year, in response to Mr Mangcu’s letter to Parliament.

“We were very, very grateful to Dr Meyer for coming to visit us,” said Joe. “I spoke up for the animals and I believe that my voice was heard. Traditional Africans have always cared for their animals and we urgently need to re-educate our children to care for them too. If Parliament cares, it will trickle down to the nation.”

Dr Meyer is playing a lead role in developing a new Animal Care and Protection Act. In June this year he made a personal request to Parliament for an amendment to the South African Constitution so as to include a clause on animal care and well-being.

“People need to take pride in their animals, similar to the pride they feel for their children. One can equate animals and children for the purposes of our Constitution,” he said.

Thirteen years ago…

Note from Ed: Joe Mangcu was among those of us who lobbied the Constitutional Assembly to include the well-being of animals in South Africa’s new democratic Constitution.

We asked for the inclusion of the following clause: “As sentient beings, non-human animals shall be granted the Right of Protection by human beings. They shall be protected by law against all avoidable stress, pain, injury, abuse, disease, hunger, thirst, malnutrition and acts of cruelty and cruel exploitation.”

Our voices were ignored although it was later ascertained that, among the 2 million submissions made to the Constitutional Assembly at the time, the animal rights lobby was second only to the gay rights lobby.

Now we are asking for an amendment to the Constitution so that it includes, very simply, a ‘duty to care’ for animals.