Final Live Animal Export Regulations to follow after public review
The draft regulations on the exportation of live animals by sea were published in July 2025 for public comment, with stakeholders given until August 2025 to provide feedback on the proposed framework.
Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen says the Ministry is currently reviewing written submissions received for the proposed regulations, adding that once the assessment process is complete, the Ministry will publish the final regulations.
In a statement, Steenhuisen said the department received numerous letters from individuals and organisations within the industry, many of which expressed differing views on the issue.
"It was for this reason that the regulations were put out for public comment and every interested and affected party in South Africa was given the opportunity to make written submissions on the regulations."
Animal welfare organisation Stop Live Export SA also responded through a formal letter, arguing that the draft regulations appear to be an attempt to sanitise a practice that it believes is fundamentally inhumane, particularly to a public that may be uninformed or emotionally disengaged.
The organisation further argued that it is ethically untenable for South Africa to prohibit slaughter without stunning within its own borders while allowing the export of live animals to countries where the practice still occurs.
According to the group, this amounts to moral outsourcing, exporting not only animals but also forms of cruelty that domestic laws would not permit.
The letter concluded that ending the live export trade is both an ethical obligation and a necessary step in aligning South Africa’s conduct with values such as compassion, accountability, and dignity for sentient beings.
" Those written submissions are currently being assessed, and we will ultimately then publish final regulations in that regard. It is obviously the process has been done to include the views and opinions of everybody who is interested and affected parties in this matter," the minister said.
Steenhuisen added that once a final decision has been reached, it will be communicated publicly.
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