National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Al Mawashi (Pty) Ltd and Others (15 October 2020)

This document is a case study of a High Court judgment from the Eastern Cape Division, Grahamstown, regarding an application by the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NCSPCA) to interdict the transport of live sheep by sea north of the equator.

• The High Court denied the NCSPCA's application for an interim interdict to stop the transport of live sheep north of the equator because the applicant could not prove a "reasonable apprehension of harm". While cruelty was documented at a feedlot during 2019, regulatory inspections of subsequent voyages raised no queries, leading the court to conclude that the 2019 cruelty was "unlikely to recur in 2020".
• The court determined that the balance of convenience did not favor the interdict due to the "significant costs" the Respondents faced because of litigation delays in transporting the sheep.
• The judgment noted that while South Africa is a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and is bound by its Terrestrial Animal Health Code (2019 edition) standards, it has not incorporated these standards into its own domestic legislation.

APA

Danjelle (2020). National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Al Mawashi (Pty) Ltd and Others (15 October 2020). Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/virtual-library/judgments/high-courts/national-council-of-societies-for-the-prevention-of-cruelty-to-animals-v-al-mawashi-pty-ltd-and-others-15-october-2020

Chicago

Danjelle. National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Al Mawashi (Pty) Ltd and Others (15 October 2020). Centre for Environmental Rights, 2020. https://cer.org.za/virtual-library/judgments/high-courts/national-council-of-societies-for-the-prevention-of-cruelty-to-animals-v-al-mawashi-pty-ltd-and-others-15-october-2020.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Danjelle |title=National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Al Mawashi (Pty) Ltd and Others (15 October 2020) |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=15 October 2020 |url=https://cer.org.za/virtual-library/judgments/high-courts/national-council-of-societies-for-the-prevention-of-cruelty-to-animals-v-al-mawashi-pty-ltd-and-others-15-october-2020 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{danjelle2020national, author = {Danjelle}, title = {{National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Al Mawashi (Pty) Ltd and Others (15 October 2020)}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://cer.org.za/virtual-library/judgments/high-courts/national-council-of-societies-for-the-prevention-of-cruelty-to-animals-v-al-mawashi-pty-ltd-and-others-15-october-2020}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }