Improving the well-being of South African wildlife

This executive summary of a 2018 report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) examines the legal and practical regulation of wild animal welfare in South Africa. It argues that the current legal regime is outdated and provides little protection for wild animals, particularly those under human control, due to a divide between biodiversity conservation and animal welfare laws.

• The current legal framework for wild animal welfare in South Africa is based on an outdated distinction between biodiversity conservation and animal welfare, resulting in a statutory regime that is unsuited for addressing the welfare of captive wild animals and provides little actual protection.
• There is an urgent need for a consistent welfare regime for wild animals due to the growth of commercial exploits involving wildlife and increasing public concern over welfare violations.
• Immediate and short-term reforms are needed to clarify legal mandates, close loopholes, and standardize the permit system. This includes implementing nationally prescribed standard permit conditions, uniform application forms, and allowing civil society to comment on and object to proposed permits.
• Long-term reform requires the creation of an integrated electronic national permit database to prevent the practice of obtaining permits in one province after being refused in another, ensuring all provinces have real-time access to application and approval data.
• Improving the capacity for enforcement and monitoring is critical, which requires more trained officials and regular inspections funded by government, permit fees, and fines, as well as funding for the NSPCA.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). Improving the well-being of South African wildlife. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Executive-summary.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Improving the well-being of South African wildlife. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Executive-summary.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Improving the well-being of South African wildlife |date=2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Executive-summary.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2018improving, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Improving the well-being of South African wildlife}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Executive-summary.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }