We’ve been fighting hard to stop the re-opening of the Bloemfontein Zoo – and we did it! We are pleased to announce that our application to the High Court of South Africa, Free State Division, Bloemfontein, will prevent the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality from re-opening the zoo unless they comply with stringent conditions, which we believe are unlikely to be met.
The order, granted on 19 September 2024, states that the Mangaung Municipality is prohibited from receiving any wild or exotic animals without the necessary permits. Additionally, they are restricted from receiving any threatened or protected animals unless granted permits in terms of the Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) Regulations, including registering as a commercial exhibition facility. Furthermore, the Zoo cannot re-open unless there is a sufficient budget to lawfully and sustainably operate the facility, along with an official resolution duly passed by the municipal council.
Our team will now be meeting with the legal team of the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (“DESTEA”), as the functionary responsible for issuing the required permits to accept any animals contemplated in the Order at the Bloemfontein Zoo. We remain steadfast that DESTEA cannot, in properly considering the animal welfare implications, issue any permits in good faith, unless significant changes are made to the now-defunct Bloemfontein Zoo.
The NSPCA took this urgent action due to the severe suffering that animals at the Bloemfontein Zoo were subjected to in 2019 and 2020, which eventually led to the closure of the archaic facility. After receiving information that the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality planned on re-opening the zoo, without a formal budget and resolution passed by the municipality, the NSPCA approached the High Court on an urgent basis.
We are confident that this order will effectively prevent the Zoo from re-opening. We are grateful to the Free State High Court for this decision, marking another crucial step in the prevention of cruelty to animals.
Our sincere thanks go to our legal team, including Bowman Gilfillan Attorneys, and Advocates A. Bester SC and R. Bosman, who generously and expertly assisted the NSPCA.
In our ever-evolving world, there is no place for archaic practices like zoos, which hold no bona fide education for conservation purposes. The NSPCA is for a world where animals are free to express their natural behaviour in their most natural environments.
This will not be the end of the NSPCA’s fight against zoos in South Africa and we will continue to serve the best interests of all animals kept in these synthetic and inadequate environments.
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