Terrifying ‘giraffe’s head’ sinkhole stunt unravels as rescuers believed live animal was trapped in ‘fake emergency’

A CRAZY stunt has backfired after wildlife officials mounted a rescue operation believing a giraffe was trapped in a sinkhole. South Africa‘s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, faced backlash after placing a stuffed giraffe’s head in a pothole at Mogale City, north-west of Johannesburg. Rescuers believed live animal was trapped Credit: Facebook//TG4Mogale South Africa’s main opposition party positioned the stuffed animal head in the hole to draw attention to potholes in the area Credit: Facebook/Owl Rescue Centre The stunt aimed to highlight dangerous road conditions, but backfired when wildlife rescuers abandoned an active mission to respond to the fake emergency. The video posted by the party and led by Evert Du Plessis, the shadow member roads and logistics, and was captioned: “A sinkhole so deep a giraffe can stand in it.” Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The incident has led to widespread public fury with animal lovers failing to see the funny side arguing the ploy wasted time and resources from wildlife services. The Owl Rescue centre – who responded to the incident – received a number of panicked calls notifying them to the fake emergency. When they couldn’t verify if the incident was indeed an emergency, they decided to launch a rescue. In a post to social media, they said: “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. “I dunno… Maybe I just haven’t had enough coffee for today.DA- You owe us a donation towards fuel please.” The antic was intended to demonstrate how “deep and serious” the issue of potholes are, according to the DA. Most read in The Sun They said: “Residents and small businesses in the area continue to live with the danger and disruption. After receiving a great deal of support on social media, the Owl Centre said in a separate post: “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. ​”For us, seeing a stuffed giraffe head, a wild animal that was once wild and free, likely shot and mounted, stuck in a hole for political points just feels wrong. “We probably have a different outlook on life than most because we work with these animals every day, but to us, using animal remains as a prop shows a real lack of respect and empathy for our wildlife and biodiversity. “That was a few hours wasted that could have been spent saving real lives.” Potholes have become a hot-topic issue as ancient infrastructure and overstretched services plague the state. Comment now