A lay pastor and a member of the South African Medical Association Research & Ethics Committee, who bragged online about getting an erection after shooting a buck in 2019, is continuing his quest to have the man who called him out for his “sick and disrespectful” post found guilty of defamation.
The hunter, Mark le Roux, lost his first lawsuit against the Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s chief inspector Jaco Pieterse in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court in September. The Sunday Times reports that he has now filed a late application to appeal the judgment.
In September 2019, on Facebook, Le Roux posted a photograph of the bloodied antelope he had shot propped up behind the steering wheel of his bakkie while he lay on the roof with his tongue hanging out, mimicking the fresh kill.
The caption, translated from Afrikaans, read: “I killed my first buck on my late uncle’s farm… Am I now a real man? Am I embarrassed that it gave me an erection? … Can I avoid the first-kill tradition of eating its balls? …”
An outraged Pieterse messaged Le Roux privately and told him he thought the image was “sick” and that it had upset many people.
Le Roux responded that it wasn’t his intention.
Pieterse stuck to his view the post was “sick, disrespectful and a mockery” of animal rights.
Le Roux eventually conceded it was in bad taste and took it down.
The next day Pieterse posted publicly: “This post hit a nerve. Who in their right mind makes a mockery of a dead animal? There is nothing the SPCA can do about hunting as it is not illegal. The majority of people eat meat and animals are killed … in abattoirs – this is not in dispute or an issue here.
“The issue is that a person will make a mockery of a dead animal he hunted by draping the carcass behind a steering wheel just for an added bit of fun and laughter. … a person that acts in this manner clearly has psychological issues and needs urgent intervention.”
However, Le Roux took offence to Pieterse’s response, demanded a public apology, and sued Pieterse for R200 000 for defamation.
“It came as a surprise… Le Roux had shared the post on Facebook and now wanted to take legal action over a scenario he created. He should have anticipated the negative response it would elicit from animal lovers,” Pieterse said.
Advocate Quinton Steyn agreed to represent Pieterse pro bono.
The case was heard in February 2023, and Magistrate Katlego Mokoena ruled against Le Roux in September.
Le Roux told the court he had suffered reputational harm because of Pieterse’s comment, that as a dominee, he not been invited back to the church to preach, and also, he had reportedly lost his job.
Mokoena noted that in cross-examination that Le Roux had been unclear on exactly why he felt defamed – both in his professional capacity as part of a research council panel member and as a pastor.
She described the case as one of “bruised male egos”, and found that Pieterse had not defamed Le Roux, and that Le Roux should carry the costs.
But now, months after the decision, Le Roux has filed an appeal and has asked the court for condonation for the lateness, claiming the 72-day delay was due to difficulties in tracking down recordings of the trial proceedings and having them transcribed.
Steyn said he believed the appeal was a strategy to delay the paying of legal costs because, although he had taken the case pro bono, the court had ordered Le Roux to pay the costs of the action.
He said that Le Roux risked losing again, and could land up with even more legal costs.
Pieterse, who had been extremely relieved to have the case finalised, was disappointed by the appeal, saying the opinion he had shared was factual, fair and not intended to defame.
Sunday Times PressReader article – Trophy Trouble (Open access)