Who has the Harry Giddey case docket?

Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A year after criminal charges were laid against the Mossel Bay Municipality following the euthanasia of over 60 Harry Giddey Park animals, it is unclear where the case docket currently is.

In October 2024, the municipality, which has authority over the park, handed all its animals over to the Garden Route SPCA. What followed was the euthanasia of 52 tortoises and several birds due to disease and alleged neglect.

It was on 8 July last year that the Garden Route SPCA opened a case at the Mossel Bay Police Station due to the alleged instances of neglect and animal cruelty at the park.

Last week, Mossel Bay Advertiser sent a media enquiry to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Western Cape Police regarding the status of the case.

Eric Ntabazalila, the provincial spokesperson for the NPA, responded on 11 August that the docket had been returned to the police for further investigation.

On 12 August, a Southern Cape Police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Chris Spies, told the Advertiser: “Investigation into this matter is concluded. The docket was sent to the National Prosecuting Authority for a decision to prosecute or otherwise.”

The Advertiser sent Ntabazalila some follow-up queries on 13 August, who again said the docket had been sent back to the police with queries.

After this response, Spies reiterated that the police had received the docket and returned it to the court for a decision.

At this stage, it is unclear who has the docket, or where it is.

The animal enclosure at Harry Giddey Park after it was closed in 2024. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse

The Garden Route SPCA’s area manager, Cheri Cooke, said she was deeply concerned that the whereabouts of the docket could not be verified.

“The SPCA has worked so hard to ensure we have collected all the evidence needed to ensure justice is served for all those animals who died,” she said.

She recounted the devastation felt by the team who had gone out to Harry Giddey in October 2024, who were initially expecting the animals, the tortoises and birds, to be rehabilitated and rewilded.

Instead, the team found disease-ridden tortoises and emaciated birds - some already on death’s doorstep.

Cooke said the suffering those animals went through was immense, and the decision to euthanise them was made with very heavy hearts after extensive consultation with specialists who have expert knowledge of these animals.

Cooke added that the SPCA’s mandate is to serve and protect all animals, uplift their welfare and to ensure the protection animals have under South African law is upheld and respected.

“We will continue to fight for the animals of Harry Giddey Park and ensure that those responsible are held accountable, and that incidents such as these do not happen again. We will drive this case until those responsible have their day in court,” she said.

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