The South African government has sought to clarify remarks by President Jacob Zuma that angered dog lovers.
Mr Zuma was quoted as saying at a rally on Wednesday that having pet dogs was part of white - not African - culture.
But presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said Mr Zuma was simply warning against loving animals more than humans beings. He said Mr Zuma's main message was the need to "decolonise the African mind" in South Africa, where white-minority rule ended in 1994.
South Africa's Mercury newspaper reports that Mr Zuma told thousands of supporters at a rally in KwaZulu-Natal province that people who spent money on buying a dog, taking it to the vet and for walks belonged to white culture.
There was also a new generation of young Africans who were trying to adopt the lifestyles of other race groups, Mr Zuma said.
"Even if you apply any kind of lotion and straighten your hair you will never be white," Mr Zuma was quoted as saying. |