Multiple pets suffered severe injuries during Guy Fawkes celebrations in Cape Town on Tuesday night, with the Animal Welfare Society responding to several emergencies, including hit-and-run accidents.
While some areas reported a quieter night, the AWS emergency team was left exhausted after treating seriously injured dogs fleeing from illegal fireworks.
The AWS says the first patient to be admitted was a young female cross-breed from Bishop Lavis who was found lying in the gutter with lacerations and a broken leg that will need to be amputated.
Next to arrive was a German Shepherd rescued from the busy Swartklip Road in Eastridge, Mitchell's Plain.
The dog had a broken leg and an eye injury, that is going to result in the loss of his eye.
AWS spokesperson Allan Perrins said neither of the dogs had any form of identification, but both appear to be owned, and they can only hope that their owners will contact them.
“This Guy Fawkes was less eventful than last year, and we can only hope that this trend continues.
“It really saddens us to know that despite our best efforts, both of our fireworks victims have needlessly suffered lifelong debilitating injuries,” he says.
“Letting off fireworks is in our opinion a deliberate act of cruelty to animals not to mention environmental hazard and a complete waste of money. They must be banned.”
The AWS also responded to many calls from upset pet owners whose animals were traumatised by klappertjies.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA on the other hand celebrated their quietest Guy Fawkes ever.
It said fireworks appeared to be concentrated in a few areas, like Manenberg, Tafelsig, Bokmakierie, and Elsies River while of the 32 calls received on their emergency line, only three are potentially linked to fireworks.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za