AR-News: (SA) SPCA wins in court, loses 'custody'

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

Business Day
Thursday 
13 May 2004 

 Johannesburg man has been fined R4,000 by the Randburg Magistrate's Court 
for failing to adequately care for his exotic birds. The court, however, ruled 
that Mike Henn should remain the legal owner of the birds despite the sentence, 
police have confirmed. 
The case stems from the seizure of 51 exotic birds from Henn's ammunition 
warehouse in Strydom Park by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Animals (NSPCA) in October 2002. 
Evidence before the court was that the birds had been living in cages with 
decaying rat corpses and were poorly fed. The cages were also full of bird 
excrement and were unhygienic. 
Henn appeared briefly in court on Saturday and was found to have violated the 
Animals Protection Act of 1962. He was sentenced to a R4,000 fine (or 12 
months imprisonment). 
The court refused the NSPCA's application for ownership of the birds. 
The birds had been in the custody of the NSPCA since their seizure and the 
organisation intended placing them in a sanctuary where they would not be bred 
or traded. 
The court said it felt Henn had learned his lesson. 



full story:
http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1614854-6078-0,00.html 


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    "The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those 
rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of 
tyranny. - Jeremy Bentham 1748 - 1832 
The question is not can they REASON, nor can they TALK, but can they SUFFER?" 





         
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