Hunters lose court bid against animal wellbeing law
South Africa's Constitutional Court has upheld rules that make the wellbeing of wild animals part of how they are managed and used.
Johannesburg — South Africa's Constitutional Court has rejected a challenge by a hunters' association to the part of the country's biodiversity law that protects the wellbeing of wild animals, Daily Maverick reports.
The decision was unanimous. The court ordered the association to pay the costs of the EMS Foundation, which opposed the case alongside the National Council of SPCAs.
What was at stake
In 2022, parliament amended the biodiversity act to add animal wellbeing. The law defines it as "the holistic circumstances and conditions of an animal" that support its physical and mental health and its ability to cope with its environment.
The South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association argued that parliament had not allowed proper public participation, because the wording was changed during the process. It also warned that the definition could threaten sustainable use, including responsible hunting, and reach as far as culling, tagging and tracking wildlife and even pest control.
It asked the court to strike the provisions down or suspend them.
What it means
Decisions about how wild animals are managed, conserved and used must now take their wellbeing into account.
"Wild animals are sentient beings with intrinsic value," the EMS Foundation said, calling the ruling "a profound victory for wild animals". It added: "The task now is to turn legal protection into meaningful practice."
Dr Andrew Muir, chief executive of the Wilderness Foundation Africa, said the outcome was not a surprise. Animal wellbeing, he said, "is a legitimate and important consideration in South Africa's biodiversity policy and legislation".
The report does not include a response from the hunters' association to the judgment.
This report is based on reporting by Daily Maverick.
