33-year-old Feselani Mcube, a bricklayer in Winterveldt, South Africa, has been found guilty of bestiality after he raped his neighbor’s pregnant goat. The goat is presently recovering after receiving medical treatment from the SPCA in the area.
The goat’s owner, Knowledge Khumalo, first heard his goar making “strange noises” in the evening of Aug 9. He told the local press that he “did not take it seriously. I thought maybe it was about to give birth since it was pregnant.”
The goat, however, was missing when Khumalo went to check on her the next morning: “I went around the community looking without any success. Later, when I returned home, I found the goat was back. However, it looked unwell.”
As Khumalo examined the pregnant animal, a man approached him and asked him whether he was the owner of the goat. When Khumalo confirmed that the goat belonged to him, the stranger made a horrifying allegation: “He then told me that he had been at Mcube’s shack that morning and had found the goat in his bed.”
Mcube first denied the allegation when villagers swooped in and confronted him but later confessed to committing sick act. Khumalo said: “Initially he denied raping the goat, but later he confided that he raped her because he found her at his shack.”
The goat was promptly rushed to the SPCA for medical aid. Khumalo lamented: “I felt I should have done something to protect her.”
Mcube was arrested and charged with bestiality. He was subsequently found guilty of the charge by the Ga-Rankuwa magistrates court.
SPCA Inspector Mishack Matlou, a senior official with the animal welfare group, revealed that Mcube’s act is the “highest form of animal cruelty” he had seen. Advocating the importance of protecting animal rights, he said:
“As the SPCA, we want to call on the judiciary to take tough action against cases of cruelty against animals. Animals have a right to life and they deserve our love. Maybe churches must start to preach about the love for animals.”