Road rage victim forgives attacker

Lorna Poulter before being released from hospital. Picture: Yolande Stander

By Yolandé Stander

THE victim of the savage Nelson Mandela Bay road rage attack that began with an altercation over a donkey cart has spoken about her ordeal for the first time.
Speaking to Weekend Post from her hospital bed at Greenacres on Thursday, Greenshields Park resident Lorna Poulter said she had suffered memory loss as a result of the brutal attack that nearly claimed her life earlier this month.
Poulter, 51, was attacked at about 10pm on April 3 by a driver wielding a wheel spanner after she had stopped in the road to berate two men on an overloaded donkey cart in Main Road, Walmer. Xolisa Ntantiso of Walmer allegedly pulled up in his car and a heated argument ensued. The state alleges he then went back to his car, took out a wheel spanner and proceeded to attack Poulter.
Ntantiso was arrested at the scene and initially faced a case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, but this was later changed to attempted murder. The case was postponed until June 4.
A fierce animal lover, Poulter nearly bled to death on the pavement near 17th Avenue after the savage beating. She remained in a coma for days after the incident and only began showing signs of recovery last week.
Still struggling to come to terms with the emotional trauma of the incident, Poulter said the attack was still very “foggy” in her mind and that “pieces of that night” were missing.
“I remember pulling over to speak to the men who had heavily overloaded their donkey cart, but after that I can’t remember anything. The next thing I can recall is waking up in hospital,” she said softly.
She was not angry at her attacker and said she had  forgiven him.
Poulter also said she was not upset by the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court decision on Thursday to grant Ntantiso bail of only R400 even though the amount sent shockwaves through the community, many feeling it was too little to fit the crime of attempted murder.
Poulter said her pets were the first thing she thought of when she came out of the coma. “Luckily my neighbours jumped in and took care of them.”

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday April 21, 2012.

Hunting dogs leave bloody trail of mutilated wildlife

DRIVEN BY HUNGER: Whippets are often used in illegal dog hunting. The dogs are often starved before the hunt to force them to kill wild animals. Picture: Supplied

By Yolande Stander

THE savage practice of hunting with dogs is becoming a huge problem in Nelson Mandela Bay, leaving a trail of butchered and mutilated wild animals in its wake. The problem has reached such alarming levels that in some areas certain species of animals have been completely wiped out, while others have been driven out of their habitat by hunters and forced into suburbs, where they are causing havoc.

Conservationists, animal anti-cruelty organisations and animal activists say over the past months they have seen and heard of growing numbers of youngsters, in particular, entering reserves and other open areas in and around Nelson Mandela Bay with packs of dogs in tow.

While the barbaric tradition is seldom witnessed, field workers often have to deal with the aftermath when coming across creatures suffering long and agonising deaths after being ripped to pieces by the dogs.

Nelson Mandela Bay conservationist Ken Presley said hunting usually took place over weekends, in the early hours of the morning, when chances of detection were slim. “The hunters go into the bush with their packs of dogs and knobkieries. The dogs sniff out anything that moves, from rats to small buck, porcupines and monkeys,” said Presley.

The dogs then corner their prey in thick bush and savagely rip the animal apart. Often, Presley says, the animal is still alive when its limbs are being torn off. If the animal is “lucky” the hunters arrive in time to beat it to death with a kierie, thus ending its suffering, but in most cases this is not the case.

He added the hunters took the dogs’ kill away from them and left them with a few scraps.

Presley said with the hunting of monkeys the dogs often chased the animals into trees. “The hunters then pelt it with stones until it is desperate enough to get out of the tree in an attempt to escape. As soon as the monkey does this, the dogs are on it and kill it.

“It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are, each animal suffers an agonising and traumatic death.”

During his day-to-day activities Presley has seen many horrific sights. One of the worst was a bush-pig found running around in agony with pieces of flesh ripped off it. It had managed to escape the dogs. On another occasion they came across a hunter in possession of many porcupines. They were still alive when the dogs started ripping them apart, he said.

It is not only the wild animals that suffer. Linda-Louise Swain, of the Animal Anti-Cruelty League, said the dogs also lived under horrific circumstances. “The hunters usually deliberately starve the dogs to force them to hunt. We often find these dogs in terrible conditions,” said Swain, adding if these dogs were rescued they were extremely difficult to rehabilitate and suitable homes could usually not be found for them.

Sharon Plumb, of the Animal Welfare Society, said the hunting had driven animals, especially monkeys, out of their habitat and they had taken up residence in suburbs. The monkeys in turn attacked domestic animals like cats and wreaked havoc in some residential areas.

Jenny Rump, of the Swartkops Trust, said in some areas certain species had been completely wiped out. “In the past you could find porcupines all over the Swartkops Reserve. Now you won’t come across any.”

Presley had also noticed a “staggering” drop in the numbers of certain animals in some areas. “Back in the day you could find grysbok, porcupine and duiker in the Bluewater Bay area. Now there is nothing.”

He added that “all wild animals in open areas in the Bay” had been completely wiped out, which was why the hunters were now targeting reserves and private property. “It is happening everywhere, even beyond the borders of the metro, and it is a massive problem.”

Presley said this was a “highly illegal practice” and conservation officers were doing all they could to bring the hunters to justice. “We do catch them sometimes and arrest them and, depending on the circumstances, they are eventually sentenced.”

He added that the hunters often hunted not because they needed food, but because it was tradition. “Tradition is no excuse for this barbaric practice in these modern times,” he said.

(The print version of this article was originally published in Weekend Post on Saturday, April 16, 2011.)