The storm raging over Tony Yengeni's slaughtering of a bull is refusing to die down, with the SPCA charging that the public debate about its investigation into the matter is misdirected and the Ministry of Arts and Culture saying Yengeni was within his constitutional right to perform the ritual.

The SPCA is investigating complaints from the public of cruelty to an animal - a criminal offence under the Animal Protection Act. But while some have alleged cruelty to animals, others bemoaned insensitivity to cultural practices.

SPCA chief executive Allan Perrins said they recognised the validity of ritual slaughter.

"The SPCA's concern is the manner in which the animals are handled and treated prior to the slaughter. The circumstances under which this animal was slaughtered, and not the practice of animal slaughter, is the focus of our investigation," Perrins said.

He added that former ANC chief whip Yengeni was not being singled out because of his public profile.

"We have a team of 16 inspectors investigating 1 500 cases per month. We certainly are not singling out Mr Yengeni on any basis than the incident in question," he said.

Furious debates have played out in the media since the weekend ritual when Yengeni speared a bull at his parents' Gugulethu, Cape Town, home before it was slaughtered during a cleansing ceremony after the four months he spent in prison for defrauding parliament.

The SA Human Rights Commission's Jody Kollapen said the issue couldn't be dealt with merely by using criminal law, and urged the SPCA to engage in a public debate relating to culture and cultural liberty and their mandate to prevent cruelty to animals.

"One cannot take a simplistic approach to matters like this. It goes to the very heart of how people define themselves and how we construct our identity," said Kollapen.

With acknowledgements to Vusumuzi Ka Nzapheza and The Star.