Non-profit organisations and veterinarians have condemned new draft regulations published by the Department of Agriculture, warning that they permit “barbaric treatment and intense suffering” of animals transported by sea for slaughter.
The proposed law, released on 11 July 2025, sets out conditions for live animal exports by sea, a practice long opposed by animal welfare experts and many veterinarians in South Africa and internationally. The regulations are open for public comment until Monday 25 August.
“Greenwashing cruelty”
Dr Angelique Smit, a South African veterinarian who has commented extensively on the draft regulations, said that in her opinion, “it is not possible to ensure animal welfare when live animals are transported or exported by sea. Stocking densities required to make the practice economically viable compromise true animal welfare, and once the ships leave our waters, South African law no longer applies.
“These regulations are riddled with loopholes and cannot protect animals.”
International veterinary voices have echoed these concerns, and Vets Against Live Export (VALE), an Australian group with over 200 members, has pledged to lodge a submission against the South African draft regulations. In a 2024 submission recommending the phase-out of live sheep exports in New South Wales, VALE wrote that Australian livestock export industry “has a track record of over 40 years of poor animal welfare” and that “the inherent risks to sheep cannot be resolved.”
Tony Gerrans, Executive Director of Humane World for Animals South Africa, said: “While the rest of the world moves against the cruel and inhumane practice of shipping live animals long distances by sea for slaughter, the South African Government is trying to greenwash the industry with a set of wholly inadequate regulations. Conditions on these ships are deplorable and incompatible with any reasonable notion of animal welfare.
“The regulations amount to a bureaucratic façade. Even if enforced, they cannot address the inherent cruelty of the practice.”
Flouting a global trend
Several other countries have banned the live export of livestock by sea:
- New Zealand banned live animal exports in 2023.
- The United Kingdom legislated to ban exports in 2024.
- Luxembourg and Germany have prohibited the practice.
- Australia passed a law in 2024 to phase out live sheep exports by 2028.
Evidence from the seas: suffering is inevitable
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) has been waging a legal battle since 2019 to have live sheep exports banned in South Africa. In 2024, there was a public outcry after a strong stench issued from the ship Al Kuwait, which had docked in Cape Town carrying about 19 000 cattle bound for Iraq. NSPCA officials inspected the animals and found they were confined to cramped, poorly ventilated and unsanitary conditions.
Humane World for Animals South Africa and its fellow non-profits Stop Live Export South Africa and FOUR PAWS have pointed out that animals are confined for weeks in pens on live export ships, enduring sweltering heat, noise, ammonia build-up from their waste, and inadequate veterinary care. Deaths are common.
“The South African draft regulations provide no scientifically based welfare benchmarks for heat or humidity, no provisions for waste disposal at sea, and allows so-called “assignees” on board who are not truly independent monitors”, Gerrans pointed out.
False promises for farmers
Proponents of live export argue that the trade benefits emerging farmers. Evidence shows otherwise. “The reality is that the vast majority of livestock exported are owned by wealthy commercial farmers, not small-scale or emerging farmers,” said Gerrans.
An analysis performed by the NSPCA in 2021, revealed that a mere 15% of the live sheep exported for the preceding three years, were sourced from emerging farmers, with the remaining 85% being sourced from large commercial farmers.
By contrast, the export of processed meat is far more valuable. In Australia, chilled sheep meat exports are 58 times more valuable than live exports.
Dr Smit observed that “the money spent on shipping live animals − food, bedding, fuel, staff − could be invested in cold storage facilities. If animals are slaughtered in South Africa with independent oversight and religious representatives present, welfare standards could be upheld, and abattoirs supported.”
A phase-out is the only humane solution
Once animals leave South African shores, the government has no control over how they are handled or slaughtered. Investigations have repeatedly documented brutal practices in importing countries, including inhumane handling and slaughter without stunning, leaving animals fully conscious as their throats are cut.
These practices contravene international standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and are inconsistent with the ethical duties of veterinarians.
Animal welfare organisations and many veterinarians emphasise that no amount of regulation can make live export humane.
“Even comprehensive and well-enforced regulations cannot address the inherent cruelty of live export,” said Gerrans. “South Africa must join the global trend and legislate a phase-out.”
Deadline for comment
Members of the public, veterinary professionals, and associations are urged to act before 25 August 2025 by submitting objections. Submissions should be sent to VPH@Dalrrd.gov.za (copy to RegulationsComments@stopliveexport.co.za), or made through the Dear South Africa portal at https://dears.africa/campaigns/should-live-animal-exports-be-banned-have-your-say#join_the_conversation
Inky Dresner
Soapbox Communications
Cell: (083) 297 7981
Email: inky@soapbox.co.za