The Constitutional Court today dismissed an application, opposed by the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA), in which the South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association (SA Hunters) sought to set aside the animal well-being provisions of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 (NEMBA).
In an unanimous judgment, the Court found that SA Hunters had delayed unreasonably in bringing its challenge and that the interests of justice did not allow the delay to be overlooked. The provisions remain in force, and SA Hunters was ordered to pay the costs of the NSPCA and the EMS Foundation, which also intervened to oppose the application.
The NSPCA welcomes the judgment. Its effect is that decisions about how wild animals are managed, conserved and used in South Africa must continue to take their well-being into account.
SA Hunters argued that the public should have been consulted again after the definition of well-being was revised during the legislative process. The Court found that SA Hunters had taken part in the consultations, had commented on the definition in 2022, and waited until July 2024 to bring its application. Considering the merits only insofar as they bore on the delay, the Court found the challenge’s prospects doubtful, noting that the public had been consulted on animal well-being throughout and that the change to the definition was arguably modest. It also recognised that since the provisions came into force in 2023, animal well-being has informed policy and regulatory work, and that setting the provisions aside could disrupt that work.
The inclusion of well-being in NEMBA in 2022 followed sustained engagement between the NSPCA, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and other stakeholders. The Act defines well-being as “the holistic circumstances and conditions of an animal, which are conducive to its physical, physiological, and mental health and quality of life, including the ability to cope with its environment.”
SA Hunters did not serve its application on the NSPCA, despite the NSPCA’s direct statutory interest in the matter. When the NSPCA learned that a settlement was being pursued without its participation, it obtained an urgent interdict in the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court in December 2024, ensuring that it would be heard before the Constitutional Court.
“Wild animals experience pain, fear and distress, and South African law requires that this be considered when decisions are made about their lives. The Court has left that principle intact. Our focus now is on seeing it applied consistently, alongside government and every sector willing to engage,” said Esté Kotzé, Chief Executive Officer of the NSPCA.
The NSPCA extends its sincere thanks to Advocate Les Morison SC, Advocate Samantha Martin and Bowmans for their work on this matter, and remains committed to protecting the welfare of all animals in South Africa.
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