Dogfight brews over new SPCA property

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A new property which was hoped would secure the future of the Uitenhage SPCA, thanks to a R2.7m lifeline, has instead been at the centre of a fierce standoff in the farming community of Kruisrivier, where angry neighbours arrived at the site on Tuesday threatening to block the move.

SPCA officials had invited The Herald on a tour of the property in Kariega where, if everything goes according to plan, new kennels will be built.

Instead, residents from neighbouring properties arrived to raise concerns regarding the animal welfare organisation being so close to their farms.

While the offer for purchase has been accepted by the seller after animal lovers banded together to raise enough funds, the sale is dependent on the rezoning of the premises from an agricultural property to an animal care centre.

Further funds still need to be raised to build the kennels.

This comes after a new service provider was appointed to operate the municipal pound in January following a supply chain management process.

Busy Bees Service Providers effectively took over from the Uitenhage SPCA which had operated from the premises in the industrial area of Kariega for more than 50 years.

Following the expiry of its service level agreement with the municipality in October 2025, the SPCA later advised that it would cease operation.

The decision was based on the limited timeframe given, over the month of December, to bid for the new tender.

Uitenhage SPCA chair Deirdre Swift said her team felt ambushed on Tuesday.

“We were surprised when we arrived to find members of the community waiting for us outside the property.

“We were not aware a community meeting was taking place at the same time as our visit.”

She said it was finally agreed that the residents would hold a community meeting to document their concerns.

“They [can then] forward those concerns [for us to] address them and allay any fears they might have and try to reach a consensus.”

Swift said the purpose of the organisation’s visit to the earmarked property on Tuesday had been to highlight the need for funding to build kennels.

“We wanted the public to know that this property would allow us to operate within 48 hours of moving in, with the exception of kennels on site.

“All the other amenities, facilities and services are already available.”

Swift said that the municipality had advertised the special consent for objections from the residents and surrounding community, and that deadline closed in the first week of May.

Neighbouring farmer Ericus Meyer said his family had farmed there for more than 30 years.

“We have three farms in the area,” Meyer said.

“One borders this property, and we are definitely concerned.

“Our primary concern is safety.

“The farms here are not big, they are smallholdings.”

Meyer said the nights in Kruisrivier were very quiet — and the sound of a dog barking alerted them to potential danger.

“You can hear a dog barking from 1km away and all dogs in the area then start barking.

“Now we won’t know if the dogs are barking at each other or for safety reasons.

“There are many cable thieves here, and we won’t know if the dogs are alerting us to the thieves or to the SPCA dogs barking.”

Meyer said he was also concerned about the SPCA bringing in stray livestock with the current foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

“I’m the biggest livestock farmer in the area.

“This could destroy my business.”

Meyer said having the SPCA in Kruisrivier would further cause property values to diminish.

“I’ve just bought a farm next to this property.

“The value will crash if it’s next to a f**king dog pound.

“My biggest problem is that I heard about the SPCA moving here via the grapevine.

“Neighbours were not consulted.”

He said though he was an animal lover who had donated to the SPCA, “this thing is definitely not going ahead — I’m sure of that”.

Another neighbour, Christa Kemp, said her main concern was that the SPCA was seemingly in a rush to secure a new property without fully considering the surrounding environment.

“Would you want to live that close to all those dogs?

“When one dog barks, all dogs within 10km will start barking.

“This type of thing should stay in the industrial areas.”

Local farmer Ghia Harbron said she had lived in Kruisrivier since 1979 and her concern was how the SPCA was going to operate without municipal services.

“This is an agricultural area; we don’t have sewerage lines or refuse collection.

“How is the SPCA going to manage?”

Swift, meanwhile, said the SPCA had considered all factors in setting up an animal welfare centre on the identified site.

“We did our homework before we put in an offer to purchase despite not being granted much time to find a new property.

“We had to find a property that would benefit the operations of the SPCA in the shortest period of time, and this was the only property to tick all the boxes.

“This property has borehole water and electricity.

“An architect has come out and done the designs for the kennels.

“I know the community is concerned about the waste coming from the kennels, but we will continue to operate as we did at our current facility.

“Everything from the kennels goes into a skip which is taken away by a recognised waste disposal company.

“Everything will be done by the book.

“We had hoped to be welcomed here because the SPCA serves this entire community.”

Swift said she hoped the residents’ concerns could be discussed amicably to alleviate any fears — and that the animal welfare organisation could continue to serve the Bay.

“I hope that through discussions we can ensure this move happens.”

Swift stressed that if the rezoning of the property did not go ahead, the SPCA would be in dire straits.

“We’re still currently on municipal property.

“The municipality does not want us here.

“They have been trying to get us to move since January — but we need somewhere to go.”

Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya explained that agricultural land may be rezoned to a consent use or an alternative zoning category, dependent on the scale and nature of the proposed animal welfare operations.

“Each application is assessed on its own merits, taking into account factors such as land use compatibility, environmental impact, traffic implications and compliance with municipal planning policies.”

Soyaya said the rezoning process required a submission and motivation for the proposed land use, as well as public participation where interested and affected parties were afforded an opportunity to comment.

He said a technical assessment was conducted by the municipality, after which a decision would be made by the relevant authority.

Swift said if the objection from neighbouring residents halted the SPCA from moving to the Kruisrivier property, the organisation would have no place to go.

“That property is our saving grace. Without it, we’re under threat.”

The Uitenhage SPCA currently houses just fewer than 30 animals at its present location.

“The rest have been adopted.”

Swift said over the past three months of uncertainty and chaos, the situation had been very difficult for their 15 staff members.

“Working on site here is difficult.

“When you know you’re not welcome, it impacts how you face each day.

“Everybody is cramped into a tiny space and the staff keep asking when we’re going to move.”

Swift said the deadline for the SPCA to vacate the municipal property was March 31, but that they were in limbo, waiting on further instructions from their legal team.

Soyaya confirmed that the SPCA was formally given notice to vacate the municipal property by March 31, which was agreed to.

But Swift said with the special consent public participation only wrapping up in the first week of May, she hoped the SPCA would be able to remain on the municipal property until their new property was rezoned.

Soyaya said: “We hope the SPCA will respect and abide with all legal requirements and court orders related to them vacating the municipal property to allow the municipality to finally manage the pound.”