When politicians from South Africa’s main opposition party put a stuffed giraffe’s head into a sinkhole, their plan was to draw attention to the dire state of the country’s roads.
But the stunt, by the Democratic Alliance (DA), backfired when animal rescuers were called out to what they thought was an emergency, leading to a furious public reaction.
Politicians from the DA, the main opposition party to the African National Congress (ANC), set up and filmed a giraffe stuck up to its neck in a roadside chasm in Mogale City, north-west of Johannesburg.
The video was fronted by Evert Du Plessis, the shadow member of the executive committee for roads and logistics, and was captioned: “A sinkhole so deep a giraffe can stand in it.”
It continued: “Residents and small businesses in the area continue to live with the danger and disruption. To drive the point home, a giraffe prop was placed in the hole to show just how deep and serious the problem is.”
The video was fronted by Evert Du Plessis, the DA’s roads and logistics lead
But not everyone knew it was a prop.
Staff at Owl Rescue Centre received a number of worried calls that an animal appeared to be in trouble and dropped their work elsewhere to attend the scene.
They said they had tried to verify whether the incident was a hoax, but set out to mount a rescue. They only realised it was not real when they received further photos.
Staff suggested the party owed the rescue centre a donation for fuel costs.
The centre said on social media: “Naturally, we rushed straight out to help. Right up until we received this photo and realised it might be a prank.
“Turns out, it was. The local branch of the DA thought sticking a stuffed giraffe head into a hole was a clever way to draw attention.”
In a later post, the centre added: “When a wild animal’s life might be on the line, we don’t wait around, we respond. What if it had been real?”
It continued: “Using an actual dead animal to score political points isn’t just unethical but deeply disrespectful to our wildlife and biodiversity.
“We get it. We understand why you need to bring attention to the state of our roads and sinkholes.
“And we even get the joke. But using an animal to make a political point just crosses the line for us.”
The centre claimed it had abandoned another rescue to attend the scene, which they returned to after discovering the hoax.
Sinkholes a ‘huge problem’
Decrepit infrastructure and overstretched public services are expected to be key political battlegrounds in November’s municipal elections, with potholes and sinkholes a highly visible example.
Mr Du Plessis said in the video: “Here is the sinkhole that we started visiting in February last year. As you can see, nothing has been done. We had some fun with the giraffe here. A lot of people that drove past thought he fell into the hole, but it’s just a prop that we use to emphasise the veracity of this problem.”
He said the party was asking road and transport authorities to “please urgently come to our help and to make sure that this problem is solved as soon as possible”.
“It really creates a huge problem for residents as well as small businesses in this area.”
Helen Zille, a DA politician, was filmed earlier this year swimming in a giant pothole
In response to the video, social media users condemned the action. “This was not funny…there are better ways to highlight a sinkhole,” wrote one user. “Many people were distressed, and Owl Rescue Centre could have spent their time saving other animals that needed their help.”
Helen Zille, the DA candidate to lead Johannesburg, was filmed earlier this year swimming in a giant pothole to illustrate the state of the roads.
The DA came second in South Africa’s 2024 election, when the ANC lost its 30-year outright majority.
The parties have since been in a sometimes fractious national unity coalition, but the DA will try to win a slew of town halls in November to maintain the ANC’s decline in popularity.