Skip to content
Network For Animals Logo
Network For Animals Logo
  • How we take action
    • Cats In Crisis
    • Disaster Relief
    • Dogs In Distress
    • Equine Care & Rescue
    • Ukraine War
    • Worldwide Donkey Crisis
  • News
  • About
    • Meet Our Team
    • Financials
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • How we take action
    • Cats In Crisis
    • Disaster Relief
    • Dogs In Distress
    • Equine Care & Rescue
    • Ukraine War
    • Worldwide Donkey Crisis
  • News
  • About
    • Meet Our Team
    • Financials
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Donate
Donate now
  • How we take action
    • Cats In Crisis
    • Disaster Relief
    • Dogs In Distress
    • Equine Care & Rescue
    • Ukraine War
    • Worldwide Donkey Crisis
  • News
  • About
    • Meet Our Team
    • Financials
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Donate
Menu
  • How we take action
    • Cats In Crisis
    • Disaster Relief
    • Dogs In Distress
    • Equine Care & Rescue
    • Ukraine War
    • Worldwide Donkey Crisis
  • News
  • About
    • Meet Our Team
    • Financials
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Donate

Victory Against Animal Abuse In Bela-Bela, South Africa!

  • December 31, 2021
  • News, Worldwide Donkey Crisis
In December 2021, a donkey owner in Bela-Bela, South Africa, was sentenced to two years in prison for negligence and abandonment of his donkeys. It is a vindication of our work, a rare victory for animal welfare and a sign of positive change for the future.

Recently, our partner Marc Ward of Have a Heart Equine Sanctuary (HAHES) in rural Bela-Bela, alerted us to a horrific case of donkey abuse – but this time, the outcome is a victory for animal welfare and for the donkeys!

A donkey named Blaze was found wandering the hot and dusty streets of Bela-Bela, alone and with open seeping wounds – wounds that later turned out were the result of having had boiling water thrown over him.

Victory Against Animal Abuse In Bela-Bela, South Africa! 1
Blaze’s wounds starting to heal at the Have a Heart Equine Sanctuary

Blaze’s owner had received several warnings in the past for not looking after his donkeys and when one of his donkeys was tragically killed after being knocked down by a vehicle. When it emerged that Blaze, too, was one of his animals, Marc opened a case of negligence and abandonment against him.

Charges were laid under the Animals Protection Act and after two court appearances, the donkey owner was found guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison. This is profound news, and Network for Animals (NFA) is proud to be a part of the positive change for animal welfare in Bela-Bela.

Blaze has been at the HAHES sanctuary for several months but is still on daily pain medication. His costly treatment ($500 per month) is ongoing because of his chronic non-healing wounds, and he requires constant care and wound cleaning three times a day. We will keep you updated on his recovery.

Victory Against Animal Abuse In Bela-Bela, South Africa! 2

NFA has been working in rural Bela-Bela, South Africa, for the past two years and we have successfully managed to reduce donkey abuse in this impoverished slum by 40%. With the help of Marc and HAHES, we have successfully set up a safe house for abused donkeys, have placed a cruelty investigator in the community, and helped microchip donkeys in the area for easy identification.

It is thanks to this microchip program and outreach work that we were able to identify Blaze and the owner responsible for his abuse. We could not have done this without your donations and without your continued support. You are the reason that justice prevailed for Blaze!

Please continue to donate to Network for Animals. Your donation will be used to rehabilitate and care for our brave little fighter, Blaze, and the many other donkeys of Bela-Bela.

By supporting our work, you are reaching out with caring hands to stop animal abuse

Please donate now
Stay up to date

Stay up to date

Share link

Your Donations In ACTION: May 2023

In May, your support once again touched the lives of animals who have seldom known human kindness. Here are the animals your support helped in

27 May 2023

Daily Mail: Terminally Ill Woman, 44, Suffering with Kidney Failure and Lupus is Saved by her Pet Doberman after Dog Sniffs out a One-in-22million Matching Donor During Trip to the Beach

Article written by Tom Bedford Originally published by the Daily Mail (Tuesday, April 25, 2023) A pet Doberman dog sniffed out a ‘perfect’ kidney donor

16 May 2023

Bird Flu Kills Three Nebraskan Cats

The bird flu that began last year, and which has so far killed 5 million birds in Nebraska, has now been linked to the deaths

11 May 2023

Your Donations In ACTION: April 2023

Your support in April brought comfort, care, nourishment and love to animals who have no one else. Here are all the animals you helped this

30 April 2023

Help us fight cruelty to animals around the world

Click here to donate

Network for Animals

Network for Animals is a non-government, international animal welfare organization crusading for animals around the world.

© Network for Animals
Terms and conditions/ Privacy policy
Cookie policy

Campaigns

Cats In Crisis Disaster Relief Dogs In Distress Equine Care & Rescue Ukraine War Worldwide Donkey Crisis

Stay up to date

Receive our regular emails about our campaigns for animals around the world.

Sign up

Contact us

UK: +44 (0)20 8471 7666
USA: +1 727 599 8148
South Africa: 
+ 27 21 794 9149
+ 264 81 653186

info@networkforanimals.org

Facebook-f Twitter Youtube Instagram Linkedin
Subscribe

Sign up to our newsletter

Donate
This website uses cookies to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo

Lisa-Mari Spence

Leadership Gifts Officer

Lisa-Mari was raised in South Africa and joined the NFA team as the UK fundraiser after relocating to Greece. With a background in public relations and a passion for helping animals her role at NFA is a perfect match.

Alissa Ford

Director of Leadership Gifts, USA

Alissa is the Director of Leadership Gifts in the United States. She has a background in nonprofit fundraising and marketing, but believes all paths led her to Network for Animals, where she is able to combine her professional experience with her personal passion for animal welfare. Alissa lives in Boston, Massachusetts with her husband and her fur-baby Ollie, who is treated like the prince he thinks he is, since his human brother and sister are grown and now living on their own. Alissa loves speaking to our supporters who she truly considers a community of fellow animal lovers.