Feral cats killed with shotgun: Pretoria business owner sparks outrage

Outrage is mounting in Pretoria after a business owner allegedly shot and killed feral cats with a shotgun in Silver Lakes. A Pretoria business owner is at the centre of outrage after he allegedly shot and killed feral cats with a shotgun on a property of a lodge in Silver Lakes, Pretoria, in front of eyewitnesses, before allegedly threatening people who tried to stop him,reportsPretoria Rekord. Juanita Cronje, who lives on the property, says she and her fiancé moved there about four years ago.

About a year later, she noticed people dumping tame cats in the area, and the animals began living on the lodge’s premises. “I am an animal lover and could not stand the thought of these cats being dumped and left to fend for themselves, so I made sure to feed them,” she says. Her fiancé, Tobie Mynaardt, works for the lodge owner, Mike von Backström.

According to Cronje, Von Backström had repeatedly threatened to shoot and kill the cats and had allegedly even put out poison for them. She alleged that matters escalated last Thursday when Von Backström arrived on the property and started shooting at the cats with a shotgun. “I was busy in the bathroom when I heard the first shot.

[paywall]

I tried to look out the window, but I could not see what was going on, so I ran outside and saw Mike with the shotgun. A black cat started running in my direction, and I shouted at Mike to stop shooting. He screamed and said that if I did not get out of the way, he would shoot me as well.

He then shot the black cat as it was walking towards me. I was in complete shock, and he was sitting in his bakkie with his shotgun, laughing like a crazy person,” she says. Cronje claims that he then left, but promised to return to shoot the rest of the cats.

She immediately phoned Mynaardt, who rushed home. Cronje says she later passed out from the shock. Mynaardt says he confronted Von Backström about the shooting and the alleged threats, but was met with hostility.

“He shouted at me, fired me, and told us we had 24 hours to vacate the property,” Mynaardt says. He adds that shortly after leaving Von Backström’s office, the electricity supply to their unit was disconnected. The couple said they have been without power since last Friday.

[/paywall]