South Africa’s animal wellbeing protections will remain in place after the Constitutional Court dismissed a challenge brought by the South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association.
Elephant family at the waterhole, Addo Elephant Par / Patrick Baum / Unsplash
The case centred on amendments to the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, which require animal wellbeing to be considered in decisions involving wildlife conservation, management and sustainable use.
The provisions recognise that protecting wildlife involves more than keeping animal populations alive. Their physical and mental health, quality of life and ability to cope with their surroundings must also be considered.
Why hunters challenged the protections
SA Hunters argued that changes to the definition of animal wellbeing during the legislative process should have been opened to further public consultation. The association also raised concerns about how the provisions could affect activities such as hunting and game farming.
However, the Constitutional Court dismissed the application on 9 October 2026, finding that SA Hunters had waited more than 25 months to bring the challenge without adequately explaining the delay. The court also considered the challenge’s prospects of success and found them doubtful.
The association was ordered to pay the legal costs of the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) and the EMS Foundation, which opposed the application.
The decision does not ban hunting or other wildlife management activities. It means animal wellbeing must remain part of the considerations when these activities are assessed.
What happens next?
The NSPCA and EMS Foundation welcomed the judgment, with the latter calling for the Wildlife Wellbeing Forum to be reconvened so that the provisions can be translated into practical policies, regulations and decision-making.
Although the legal challenge has been dismissed, putting these protections into practice remains the next step.
For South Africa’s wildlife, the decision keeps an important principle on the table: conservation should not only be measured by the number of animals that survive, but also by the quality of life they are able to live.
Source (Daily Maverick)
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