Cat eater pic lands paper in trouble

A tabloid newspaper has been censured by the press ombudsman for not clearly stating that pictures it published of a man seemingly about to "bite" a cat and "slaughter" a dog were staged.

In a ruling on Monday, deputy press ombudsman Johan Retief upheld a complaint brought by the Cape of Good Hope SPCA against the Daily Voice, and said the pictures, published in July last year, could have led readers to believe "slaughtering was about to take place".

The pictures accompanied an article headlined "I eat pussy to survive: These hungry Flats mense will kill, cook and chow your pets".

The pictures included one of a Cape Flats man with his mouth buried in the fur at the back of a cat's neck "seemingly ready to bite".

Another showed the same man and a boy getting ready to "butcher" a dog, with the man holding a knife to the animals throat and smiling.

Yet another showed the man eating meat, with the caption: "HUNGRY: Dog catcher says it tastes like lamb".

A lift-out quote stated: "It usually takes an hour to get it really juicy and with some barbecue spice it tastes like real mutton or lamb pieces. The only difference is it's a little bitter."

The ombudsman said the Daily Voice had admitted the pictures were all staged.

"However, the newspaper did not make this clear to its readers. The use of the word 'demonstrate' on the front page does not clarify matters, as it can either mean that the pictures were staged, or that [the man] was really going to kill the animals."

For not making it clear the pictures were staged, especially in light of the sensitive nature of the issue, the newspaper was in breach of the Press Code, which stated that pictures should not mislead.

"The Daily Voice is reprimanded for not indicating that the pictures were staged... [and] for creating the impression that [the man] was eating dog meat.

"[The] Daily Voice is directed to publish this finding... together with a suitable correction."

The ombudsman, however, dismissed the SPCA's complaint that the accompanying articles were, among other things, a "deliberate fabrication of mistruths" and would "perpetrate violent acts against animals [and] promote cats and dogs as a suitable source of meat".

The articles related to how, for six months, a Cape Flats man allegedly caught and ate stray pets to survive. They suggested that he might not be the only one in that boat.

The ombudsman said it was reasonable for the newspaper to have believed the story was true.

"The articles did not perpetrate violent acts against animals, nor did it promote cats and dogs as a suitable source of meat. This part of the complaint is dismissed in its entirety," the ombudsman said.