Cape Town: A big swarm of honey bees residing in the cavities of a wall of a Bonteheuwel house fell on the family’s two dogs in the back yard yesterday, after almost 50 years of peaceful coexistence.
According to the home owners’ daughters who observed the attack by the bees “they went berserk” and within minutes blanketed one of the dogs, who was a 2-year-old Pitbull named Bonzo, and fatally stung him multiple times over most of his body.
One of the other dogs, Jimmy, was stung repeatedly in the face, resulting in the swelling of his eyes, and according to the homeowner, several minutes after the incident he dashed outside to rescue the dogs, however Bonzo collapsed and succumbed to the stings, while Jimmy showed signs of a massive allergic reaction.
AWS SA spokesperson Allan Perrins said while AWS SA prohibits tethering dogs in an inhumane way, he could confirm the dogs were not tethered or chained and in an inhumane way and they were treated with adequate care, despite the unfortunate incident that occurred.
“At this early stage of proceedings it appears as though the attack may have been sparked by noise. What we can confirm is that it was totally unexpected and the size of the hive radically underestimated.”
“With the dogs being tethered they didn’t stand a chance but it is equally likely that they would have been stung had they been lost. In hindsight the only way that the tragic incident could have been avoided is if the bees had been relocated before becoming so well established in the dwelling,” said Perrins.
While it took, beekeeper, Thabo Mbaba, the better part of yesterday and today to safely catch and remove all of the bees (including the Queen), leaving the home owners with a gaping 3 meter wide hole in the wall, he said this was the largest hive he had ever seen in his 12 years of working with bees and he was amazed that Jimmy the family’s Husky survived the attack.
“It is important to remember that bees get aggressive when they are disturbed. They are very protective of the colony, and they want to survive in their own space, and unfortunately once you tamper with that space, they will of course attack you because when the queen is stimulated and she lays eggs and the bees feel the responsibility to then protect the queen first and foremost and then the colony.
“The best way to go about such incidents is to call a beekeeper. Let the bees be removed and taken to a place where they can freely go about doing their business. Bees are not out to get us, but at the same time, if they are in the neighbourhood or in a house or on a tree somewhere where people live, they can be deadly especially to those who are allergic to their stings. Bees play an important role in our ecosystem, so putting them in harm’s way when they should only be kept alone, is not the best thing to do,” said Mbaba.
Perrins adds that, the Animal Welfare Society of South Africa opposes the indiscriminate chaining or tethering of dogs, without due regard for their physical or psychological well-being.
“We insist that, if dogs are tethered, the methods and equipment used must be humane and must not be likely to cause the animals any physical or mental harm. Keeping a dog chained or tethered indefinitely and without due consideration to their well-being constitutes a form of cruelty that is a criminal offence in terms of the Animals Protection Act and may result in a 12-month prison sentence or fine of up to R40 000.”
“Our advice to pet owners is to avert a similar tragedy. Be aware of your pets’ surroundings. In a perfect world never tether or chain your pets. This increases the risk of harm and inhibits the dogs’ instinctive flight reaction to a threat or danger,” said Perrins.
Weekend Argus