Lost dog found caught in barbed wire snare

GEORGE NEWS - A resident of Hoekwil who wishes to have his identity withheld, wants to warn fellow residents about wire snare traps in the area.

This comes after the resident’s dog was caught in a barbed wire snare on Saturday afternoon, 31 December.

He says he and his wife left the house that afternoon to quickly go and wish friends of their's a happy new year. When they returned home all three their dogs were gone. Later two came back, but Shiraz, a light coloured husky, did not.

“I’m not sure if there were fireworks set off while we were gone, or how the dogs got out, but we searched everywhere. We kept calling and put up posters. Many people from the Hoekwil and Touwsranten communities also tried to find her,” he said.

On Monday evening 2 January at about 23:00, the resident stood on his balcony when he heard what he believed to be his husky howling. He set-off into the forest on his eight hectare property, in the direction from where he heard the howling. Unfortunately he did not find her. Early the following morning he and his wife went into the forest with one of their other dogs. The dog picked up Shiraz’s scent and took her owners straight to where Shiraz was caught in the snare tied to a tree. The poor dog had already started gnawing on the tree she was tied to.

“She looked extremely miserable sitting there, but when she realised we were there, she lit up immediately. She was so happy to see us. We untied her and took her to the vet. She sustained a big cut to her neck and the vet said, had she been there another day or two, she probably wouldn’t have made it out alive. She’s tired, very hungry and thirsty, but she is recovering well at home,” said the resident.

“I just want to ask fellow residents in our area to be vigilant on their properties. We had problems with snares a couple of years ago, but it stopped. Now it’s rearing its ugly head again.”

What is a snare?

A snare is a long piece of wire with a loop at the end and is attached to a stationary object, such as a large tree or log. The loop of wire is suspended from a branch or small tree and the snare catches an animal by the neck as it is walking along the trail. Snares are seen as one of the cruellest means of hunting, as many animals languish for days in a snare before dying from their injuries, lack of water, or starvation. Though some animals escape, they often die later from a painful infection caused by the injury, or starve as they struggle to find food with an injured limb.

The snare she was caught in.