The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) welcomes the judgement of the Pietermaritzburg High Court prohibiting the export of elephants from South Africa.

The High Court action followed when circus owner, Mr Brian Boswell, was refused a permit by the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs to export circus-trained elephants to Dubai.

The “Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephants”, which are issued by the national Minister of Environmental Affairs under the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act (NEMBA), prohibits the export of wild or captive elephants.

The matter came before the Pietermaritzburg High Court where Judge Dhaya Pillay handed down the Ruling: - that NEMBA applied to all State organs, provincially and nationally. Accordingly, no wild or captive elephant may be exported for the purpose of keeping it in captivity in a controlled environment.

Additionally, Judge Pillay made reference to the African elephant’s listing as a “protected species” which qualifies for special protection under CITES regulations.

The NSPCA opposes and has campaigned over many years for the abolition of wild animals in entertainment.

Wild animals belong in the wild.

 The Statement of Policy of the National Council of SPCAs and the SPCA movement in South Africa is “totally opposed to exhibitions or presentations of wild animals in circuses and travelling menageries.”

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MEDIA STATEMENT   |    ISSUED ON TUESDAY 30 JUNE 2017 |  CONTACT: MARTIE ROSSOUW on 011-907-3590