A labrador rescued from a floundering yacht off South Africa’s east coast is now marooned in bureaucratic confusion on the mainland.
The dog was quarantined after the rescue and would have been euthanised but for last-minute intervention by Agriculture Minister John Steenhuizen who was alerted to the animal’s plight.
“We have 100% confirmation that dog ACHI will remain alive and healthy and our gratitude, to all involved, including the local community and media, is greatly appreciated,” National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson Craig Lambinon said in a media statement last week. “Dog ACHI was rescued, with his owners, a Swiss dad and his German daughter, after they were forced to abandon their sailing yacht that was floundering in rough seas in a dramatic sea rescue operation led by NSRI East London on the 2nd of August at sea off the Eastern Cape coastline,” Lambinon said.
A source involved in the incident said the dog had been placed in mandatory state quarantine immediately after the rescue, as per government protocols. An official instruction to euthanise the animal – due to it coming ashore without the necessary authorisation – had been halted by Steenhuizen’s intervention, according to media reports. As a result, the dog remains in quarantine pending arrangements to have it returned to its owners.
Lambinon said the dog was a victim of circumstance, and the reprieve was therefore commendable: “The dog is a victim of circumstances out of its control and was never intended to migrate to this country,” he said in remarks published by the Daily Dispatch. “[It was] rescued at sea off a sailing yacht in life-threatening, dramatic circumstances out of its control.”
He said the dog had undergone veterinary tests and posed no threat. It was clearly never the owners’ intention to smuggle the dog ashore.
The Nahoon Bird & Animal Clinic’s reported that ACHI is now on the final leg of his voyage of confinement and he will travel to Cape Town to his new quarantine quarters. If all the tests come back negative, ACHI will be released from quarantine on the 5th of September.
There remains no signs of the floundering sailing yacht that appeared to have been lost at sea.