South Africa’s government is pushing ahead with plans to formalise and regulate its controversial live animal export industry, resisting intense pressure from animal welfare groups advocating for an outright ban.
The Department of Agriculture (DOA) has signalled a preference for policy oversight rather than prohibition, having recently published draft regulations under the Animals Protection Act. The proposed frameworks aim to establish minimum welfare protocols for cattle, sheep, and goats bound primarily for markets in the Middle East and Mauritius.
The strategy represents a stark departure from an emerging global trend. Governments worldwide are increasingly dismantling the trade due to supply chain vulnerabilities and ethical concerns. New Zealand prohibited livestock exports by sea in 2023, while the U.K. passed legislation outlawing live exports for slaughter in 2024. Australia has committed to a phased elimination of live sheep exports by 2028.
For South Africa, the economic incentives of the trade remain tethered to significant reputational risks. Activists argue that the maritime logistics inherently compromise animal welfare, pointing out that enforcement mechanisms vanish once vessels enter international waters. Livestock transported over long voyages regularly face high risks of heat stress, overcrowding, exhaustion, and mortality.
The operational liabilities of the trade made landfall in February 2024, when the Al Kuwait, a livestock vessel carrying roughly 19,000 cattle, docked in Cape Town. The incident triggered severe public backlash as a toxic waste stench blanketed parts of the city, exposing the harsh realities of the five-week journey to local residents and putting the industry under an intense public microscope.
“For many people in Cape Town, this issue became impossible to ignore; it was something they could see, smell and experience firsthand,” said Fiona Miles, Director of FOUR PAWS South Africa. “It reminded us that what happens at sea is still our responsibility.”
The debate comes ahead of the Ban Live Exports International Awareness Day on June 14, a flashpoint that civil society organizations are leveraging to demand a pivot toward local carcass processing. Opponents argue that shifting from live exports to domestic slaughterhouses would eliminate systemic cruelty, mitigate the risk of zoonotic disease outbreaks, and retain greater economic value within the country.
However, the state’s current trajectory suggests a firm bet on a regulated market rather than a structural shutdown.
“No amount of regulation can make this inherently cruel practice humane,” Miles said, challenging the government’s stance. “Animals are sentient beings, not cargo. They experience fear, stress and suffering on these long journeys, and that cannot be regulated away.”
