Fair Game? Improving the well-being of South African wildlife

The report evaluates the South African legal framework for wild animal welfare, highlighting a critical divide between biodiversity conservation (managed by the Department of Environmental Affairs) and animal welfare (managed by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). It finds that the primary welfare statute, the Animals Protection Act of 1962, is outdated and contains loopholes—specifically the use of the term "unnecessary"—that dilute protection. The report identifies significant failures in the permitting system, noting that provincial authorities often ignore national TOPS regulations and omit welfare conditions from permits. It concludes with recommendations for a standardized national electronic permit database, increased enforcement capacity, and the integration of welfare mandates across environmental and agricultural departments.

• South Africa's regulation of wild animal welfare is hindered by an outdated distinction between biodiversity conservation, under the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), and animal welfare, under the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF).
• The Animals Protection Act (APA) of 1962 is the primary welfare statute but is considered outdated and ineffective due to subjective exceptions and the frequent use of the word "unnecessary," which places a heavy onus of proof on prosecutors.
• The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) performs a critical public function in enforcing animal welfare, yet it is required to be self-funded and reliant on charity.
• Provincial conservation authorities frequently fail to comply with the national Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) regulations when issuing permits, leading to inconsistent welfare protections across different provinces.
• The report identifies a lack of standardized welfare conditions in permits; for example, a review of captive elephant permits showed that mandatory management plans required by TOPS were often missing or non-compliant.
• The South African judiciary has begun to shift toward an "integrative approach" that recognizes the intrinsic value of animals and links individual animal welfare to the broader environmental right in the Constitution.
• Canned hunting and captive predator breeding are highlighted as areas of severe welfare concern, with the report noting that the industry is often "unregulated, uncontrolled and is responsible for untold cruelty."
• The report recommends the implementation of an integrated electronic national permit database to prevent the practice of obtaining permits in one province after being refused in another.

APA

Agjee, A., Fourie, M., Löser, N., Reddell, C., Youens, K., Gibbs, A., Philander, N., Friedmann, Y., Davies-Mostert, H. T., Marnewick, K., Dore, A., Zacharias, P., & Hasselt, L. R.-V. (2018). Fair Game? Improving the well-being of South African wildlife. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CER-EWT-Regulation-of-Wildlife-Welfare-Report-25-June-2018.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Agjee, Aadila, Melissa Fourie, Nicole Löser, Christine Reddell, Kirsten Youens, Annette Gibbs, Nathan Philander, et al. Fair Game? Improving the well-being of South African wildlife. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CER-EWT-Regulation-of-Wildlife-Welfare-Report-25-June-2018.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Agjee |first1=Aadila |last2=Fourie |first2=Melissa |last3=Löser |first3=Nicole |last4=Reddell |first4=Christine |last5=Youens |first5=Kirsten |last6=Gibbs |first6=Annette |last7=Philander |first7=Nathan |last8=Friedmann |first8=Yolan |last9=Davies-Mostert |first9=Harriet T |display-authors=etal |title=Fair Game? Improving the well-being of South African wildlife |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=June 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CER-EWT-Regulation-of-Wildlife-Welfare-Report-25-June-2018.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{agjee2018fair, author = {Agjee, Aadila and Fourie, Melissa and Löser, Nicole and Reddell, Christine and Youens, Kirsten and Gibbs, Annette and Philander, Nathan and Friedmann, Yolan and Davies-Mostert, Harriet T and Marnewick, Kelly and Dore, Ashleigh and Zacharias, Peter and Hasselt, Lindy Rodwell-van}, title = {{Fair Game? Improving the well-being of South African wildlife}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CER-EWT-Regulation-of-Wildlife-Welfare-Report-25-June-2018.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }