NSPCA Escalates Concerns to President Over DFFE Cabinet Shift Affecting Animal Welfare

The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has, this morning, written to the President of the Republic, as the sole authority empowered under the Constitution to appoint and remove Ministers, as well as the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), to request urgent consultation regarding reports of a proposed replacement of Minister Dion George with Mr Willie Aucamp.

This comes after several news publications reported that a change in the Ministry may be imminent.

Just as our laws caters for robust public participation, the well-established precedent in National Council of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Minister of Environmental Affairs and Others 2020 (1) SA 249 (GP) obliges public functionaries to consider animal welfare when exercising their powers and making decisions – even if they do not have an animal welfare mandate.

It is precisely through this judgment that the NSPCA successfully challenged government policy relating to the captive lion bone and derivatives trade, which led to the establishment of a Ministerial Task Team that ultimately recommended the phase-out of the captive lion industry.

The NSPCA’s concern with the proposed appointment arises from numerous publicly available news reports that have linked Mr Aucamp to activities and events involving the captive wildlife industry. Of further concern, is that publicly available information reflects Mr Aucamp’s attendance of industry-linked events, such as the industries of lion breeding, other captive wildlife facilities, and the very organisation litigating against the DFFE concerning the setting of a lion bone export quota.

The NSPCA acts in the public interest and has a mandate to take cognisance of the application of laws affecting animals and to make representations in connection therewith to the appropriate authority. We do so without fear, favour, or prejudice.

The DFFE is an exceptionally important Department – one that carries significant international attention and responsibility. Foreign governments watch closely how South Africa addresses matters of wildlife trafficking, conservation, and “sustainable use”. The issue of captive lion breeding has drawn considerable concern internationally, including alarm over its potential links to illicit trade networks and reputational harm to South Africa.

The President, and the rest of the national executive, has a duty to uphold and protect section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic, which provides for an environment which is protected, for the benefit of present and future generations.