FOUR PAWS Urges Public to Speak Out Against Cruel Live Animal Export
Animal welfare organisation calls on South Africans to reject weak draft regulations and support an end to live animal exports by sea through a new public e-action before 25 August 2025
Cape Town, 18 August 2025 — Global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS is calling on the South African public to speak up against the inhumane practice of live animal exports by sea. This follows the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s publication of the draft Regulations for the Exportation of Live Animals by Sea under the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962.
To ensure animal welfare concerns are heard, FOUR PAWS has launched a dedicated e-action platform that allows members of the public to submit their objections quickly and easily. The deadline for submissions is 25 August 2025.
Take Action Now: Submit your objection via the FOUR PAWS e-action platform: HELP US SAFEGUARD THE WELFARE OF ANIMALS BY PROHIBITING LIVE TRANSPORT BY SEA | FOUR PAWS. Submissions will be automatically sent to the Department on your behalf.
Why It Matters
Animals exported by sea suffer immensely during transport—enduring heat stress, motion sickness, injury, disease, harsh conditions, inadequate space, and the possibility of failed ventilation systems, to name a few. On arrival, many face cruel handling or rejection, resulting in them not being able to disembark at the destination.
FOUR PAWS warns that the draft Regulations fail to protect animals adequately and allow for vague, unenforceable standards that will enable industry to self-regulate. Once a ship is at sea, South Africa’s laws no longer have jurisdiction, leaving animals without protection.
FOUR PAWS encourages all citizens to take 60 seconds to join the movement by submitting their objection online through the e-action before August 25, 2025. “South Africans deserve to know what’s happening behind the closed doors of live animal exports. Animals deserve better. This is our chance to demand a compassionate and enforceable solution,” adds Miles.
Click here to send your objection today: HELP US SAFEGUARD THE WELFARE OF ANIMALS BY PROHIBITING LIVE TRANSPORT BY SEA | FOUR PAWS
Together, we can ensure the welfare of animals is protected, not traded away.
/ENDS
Deidre Daniels
Public Relations Officer+27 (0)21 702 4277
+27 (0)78 675 8220
9B Bell Crescent, Westlake Business Park,
Green Building, Cape Town, 7945
A Public Relations professional with over eight years’ experience in fostering positive relationships between organisations and media.
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FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org.za