The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has been named Best Animal Welfare Advocacy 2026 for South Africa in the African Excellence Awards, with winners announced in August 2026. For an organisation that has spent more than seventy years standing up for animals across the country, it is a welcome moment of recognition.
The NSPCA has protected animals in South Africa since 1955. It is a non-profit organisation and a statutory body under the SPCA Act 169 of 1993, and its Inspectors enforce the Animals Protection Act No. 71 of 1962, investigate cruelty, and respond to animal suffering across the country. That work reaches farm animals, wildlife, companion animals, and animals used in research and entertainment, through specialist Units that cover the full range of animal protection.
The NSPCA also holds the power to institute private prosecutions, confirmed by the Constitutional Court in 2016. That authority allows it to pursue cases of animal cruelty through the courts where it is warranted, and it sets the organisation apart in South African animal welfare.
“This recognition reflects more than seventy years of steady work protecting animals across South Africa. Our focus stays where it has always been, on the animals who need us and the law that protects them.” – Esté Kotzé, NSPCA’s Chief Executive Officer.
The award arrives at a time when the demand on animal welfare in South Africa keeps growing. The NSPCA relies on the public to report cruelty and to donate to keep its Inspectors on the road. The NSPCA’s attention remains on the cases that arrive each day and the animals behind them. To support that work, visit https://nspca.co.za/donate/. To report animal cruelty, contact your nearest SPCA.
If you are as passionate about animals and their well-being as we are, consider supporting our causes by donating.
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