Macabre spate of hadeda killings in George suburbs

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

A Macabre spate of hadeda killings through the use of a bow and arrow have reared its head in some upmarket suburbs in George.

Over the past three months two hadedas and a pigeon have been found by SPCA inspection officers impaled by arrows and countless others with puncture wounds.

The hadedas suffered an agonising end as neither of the shots were kill shots, leaving the wounded birds limping around for hours before they were found.

The same high-end arrows manufactured by Easton - a sought after international brand - were found in all the incidents.
Local animal anti-cruelty activists fear a serial archer - targeting the town's birds could be behind the shootings.
George SPCA inspector André Baartman said in the most recent incident he was alerted about an injured hadeda by a Dormehlsdrift resident who spotted the bird on her property last Thursday. "I went out immediately and found the bird with an arrow in its back. Despite the injury, it could still fly and when I attempted to catch it, it flew away," Baartman said.

Later that day the hadeda was spotted again, but attempts to corner and catch it failed yet again. "It was only on the third attempt that I managed to catch it."

The arrow was about 20cm into the bird's back and could not be removed, so an SPCA veterinarian had to put it out of its misery. "The bird must have suffered so much. The arrow was in very deep and we couldn't get it out as it had hooks on the end that would have ripped through the bird's flesh and killed it if we had tried to remove it."
Just over two months ago another impaled hadeda was found by local residents in Heather Park. "The bird was found alive, but we had to put this one out of its misery too. This hadeda was also shot through the back."
Baartman said he had also seen many other hadedas with puncture and other suspicious wounds over the past three months. "I can't say for certain if all the injuries were caused by arrows, but I suspect someone with a bow and arrow is targeting these birds."

A week later a dead pigeon was found in Denneoord with an arrow through its side.
"Every arrow that we found had the Easton trademark on it, so I can only assume that the same person is responsible."
A set of Easton arrows can set you back anything between a few hundred rand to a few thousand.
"I know people don't like hadedas because they make a noise, but they still have an important role to play in the ecosystem. It is also illegal on so many levels to kill or injure animals."

He said it was firstly against the animal protection act to shoot any animal. "Secondly it is also against municipal bylaws to shoot a bow and arrow in a residential area, so we have the right to go after whoever is responsible."
He pleaded with residents to come forward with any information relating to these incidents. "We will use all the information we obtain to ensure this archer is prosecuted."