Durban - Somewhere out there, someone claiming to be a transgender person may have clues about a bestiality incident being investigated by police and a private investigator.
The individual, who told PI Brad Nathanson he went by the name Violin as a male and Violet as a female, called him on Sunday and suggested they speak again on Tuesday.
“I have been calling every day but I can’t get through. And the number is not ‘rica-ed’ (registered with the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision ),” said Nathanson.
The Cinderella Animal Rescue organisation had given Nathanson the video and asked him to investigate it, he said.
Without posting the video on his Facebook page, he displayed a “discreet” picture of the alleged videographer.
Nathanson said Violin, or Violet, had wanted to assure him the picture was not of himself, or herself.
Unlike other alleged suspects and accomplices to crimes he investigates and which he posts about on Facebook, the caller did not ask Nathanson to take down the post, the private investigator said.
Nathanson said the video showed someone engaging sexually with a sedated cocker spaniel.
“It looked as if it was taking place in a garage or on an operating table,” he said, adding that he found it so repulsive that, in spite of all the mayhem he had seen in 41 years of investigating criminals, he battled to watch it.
“Even when looking for clues,” he said. He did not post the video because it was so distressing.
He suspected that Violin, or Violet, could have been the videographer although, in his brief conversation, the caller denied being the person who filmed the incident.
Nathanson said he would welcome information from the public and can be contacted at 083 250 2007.
Late last month, Reaction Unit SA reported a social media post of a man boasting about having sex with his aunt’s dog.
The man even posted advertisements seeking female dogs, raising the ire of animal lovers who asked the Cinderella Animal Rescue organisation to open a case of bestiality. This was later changed to animal cruelty.
Police have said the case was under investigation but had no updates yesterday. It is believed that the case has been transferred from Phoenix to Verulam.
Last month, in Gauteng, a man was sentenced to eight years after being found guilty of having sex with his neighbour’s pet dog.
The 11-month animal, Moana, needed veterinary treatment.
“The presiding officer for the case, the honourable Regional Court Magistrate E van Niekerk, stated in his judgment that a distinction should not be made between the rape of an animal and that of a human,” said National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals executive director Marcelle Meredith after the case.
“The courts, therefore, have a duty to protect the rights of animal victims and impose appropriate sentences to avoid the community from taking matters into their own hands.”
The NSPCA noted that it was the highest direct imprisonment sentencing ever imposed for animal cruelty in Africa, and would set a precedent nationwide.
“Moana has made a full physical recovery under the watchful eye of the NSPCA, and she has been sterilised, vaccinated, microchipped, and dewormed,” Meredith added.
“Bestiality is a serious concern in our country. It is a shameful crime that is swept under carpets to protect perpetrators ‒ forgetting that bestiality usually progresses to the abuse of children and eventually other adult human beings at a later stage.
“The NSPCA (which provided evidence and law enforcement in the case) winning this case is of extreme significance.
“We hope that other bestiality cases being heard across the country will follow suit because a precedent has been set, and that animal rapists have been thoroughly cautioned of the consequences. Communities are encouraged to report bestiality.
“Together, with relentless pursuit, we can bring this evil to its knees,” said Meredith.
Durban and Coastal SPCA spokesperson Tanya Fleischer urged the public to take any knowledge of bestiality seriously and report it to police or the SPCA.
“Sexual abuse of animals has been recognised as one of the early warning signs of psychological dysfunction, including conduct disorder in children and antisocial personality disorder in adults,” she said, quoting the SPCA guidelines.
The Independent on Saturday