The state will not prosecute ten dog fighting cases after evidence was mishandled in the police investigation, seized items were not analysed and witness statements were incomplete.
The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) says the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) found in a letter of 29 October 2026 that there is no reasonable prospect of successful prosecution. The cases were opened between eight and eleven years ago.
According to the NPA, various investigating officers worked on the cases over the years and there were instances in which evidence was mismanaged and mishandled.
Why the dog fighting cases failed
Medication on which seizures were made in some cases was sent to the wrong division of the Forensic Science Laboratory and was never analysed. There was also no documentation to show how these exhibits were transferred from one person to another.
Other exhibits were not analysed because they were packed incorrectly. Cell phone records requested during the investigation went missing. Because more than 36 months have passed, a new request cannot be made.
There were also gaps in the collection and content of witness statements. One of the accused has since died.
NSPCA wants police to account for failures
Senior Inspector De Klerk, head of the NSPCA's special projects unit, says court cases over dog fights stand or fall, like any other criminal case, on the evidence.
"The dogs used in these fights suffered and no one will be held accountable for it. It is incredibly disappointing," says De Klerk.
The NSPCA does not dispute the NPA's decision, but calls on the police to account for what went wrong and hold those responsible to account.
Anyone with information about dog fights can contact the NSPCA on 011 907 3590 or [email protected] or approach their nearest animal welfare society.
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This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
