Democratic Alliance Take Animal Welfare seriously

This is a letter Helen Zille posted on her Facebook profile yesterday in response to

Lady - the malnourished dog and her puppies, owned by Councellor Caroline Wood

I think its great that Helen Zille took such a strong stance on this matter, and not do what I believe most other political parties would probably have done - paid the media to withdraw the statements and let this subject just vanish into thin air. - Ed.


We take animal welfare seriously

Thursday 25 June 2009 at 4:47pm

"I have received an unprecedented flow of correspondence about Lady, the maltreated dog belonging to the husband of DA councillor Caroline Wood. My office has sought to respond to every letter received. In the circumstances, I would like to repeat publicly the essence of the correspondence we have been sending to individual members of the public who have written to us about the deplorable circumstances surrounding this matter.

The DA takes animal welfare extremely seriously. From the outset we condemned the neglect and abuse of Lady and her puppies. We not only publicly censured Councillor Wood, but also charged her with misconduct in terms of the DA’s Federal Constitution within a week after the incident came to the attention of the DA’s leadership. The party has constituted a disciplinary panel to investigate the matter and to recommend disciplinary action against Councillor Wood. In addition, she will face criminal charges under the applicable animal cruelty legislation.

We fully understand the public outpouring of anger caused by the condition in which Lady and her puppies were found. Lady successfully underwent surgery for an infection in her uterus, and both she and the puppies are now being fed and nursed back to good health by the Animal Welfare Society. The DA has been in regular contact with the Society’s chairman, June Goodman, to find out about their progress. Already the Society has been inundated with offers by concerned citizens to provide a home for Lady.

The DA has offered its assistance with volunteer work at the Animal Welfare Society, and has also undertaken to place volunteers in other organisations as a mark of solidarity for Lady’s plight. The DA would like to thank the Animal Welfare Society for the care and consideration they have shown Lady and her puppies. The Society performs an invaluable service, often with little recognition.

As distressing as the incident with Lady and her puppies has been, hopefully it will serve to raise awareness about abused animals – not all of whom are fortunate enough to arouse the public concern that Lady has."

Helen Zille

Leader of the Democratic Alliance"


This chick rocks! - Ed.