Amid the heated debate over the export of South African livestock, premier Oscar Mabuyane visited the East London harbour on Wednesday to witness the loading of 56,000 sheep, 1,500 cattle and 200 goats aboard the animal carrier Al Messilah.
They are to be taken to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for slaughter.
Tensions have been rising about the proposed shipment, and on March 27 there was a physical altercation between the manager of the feedlot, where the animals were being kept, and an NSPCA inspector.
The inspectors were ordered to leave.
The National Council of SPCAs has raised serious concerns about the welfare of the animals both in the feedlots and during the long voyage to the Middle East.
The organisation said it had found pregnant, injured and malnourished animals among those in the feedlot.
They said NSPCA veterinarian Dr Bryce Marock and state veterinarian Dr Mpumelelo Zondi had both confirmed the presence of pregnant animals at the feedlot.
Requests for comment were referred by the owners of the Kuwait-based shipping company, Al Mawashi, to their legal representatives, who could not be reached by the time of publication.
Al Messilah arrived in East London on Tuesday to load on Wednesday.
Before the ship’s arrival, the NSPCA obtained a warrant from the magistrate’s court in Qonce to inspect the animals, and inspectors and a vet then visited the feedlot.
The NSPCA’s Marcelle Meredith said serious welfare concerns were identified during the inspection.
The vessel would leave East London only once their inspection had been concluded.
“On March 18, a warning was issued for shade and water to be provided for the animals and for injured animals to receive appropriate treatment.
“Since March 26, seven NSPCA inspectors, the NSPCA veterinarian and two inspectors from the King William’s Town SPCA have been at the feedlot to inspect the animals.”
On March 27, NSPCA inspectors had encountered escalating hostility during their inspection, Meredith said.
On Wednesday, the Makhanda high court ruled that the NSPCA was within its mandate and rights, as endorsed by the Constitutional Court and in terms of its warrant, to examine all animals in the feedlot and the conditions under which they were being held.
“The NSPCA had to request assistance from members of the SA Police Service.
“The NSPCA currently has five prosecution cases against Al Mawashi and [the owner of the) farming company,” Meredith said.
The NSPCA had encountered ongoing animal abuse at this feedlot.
“During the June 2023 shipment, inspectors thwarted attempts to load sick, pregnant, lame, heavily horned and unshorn sheep.
“Inspectors further intervened when rams had their horns severed using an angle grinder, causing a bloodbath and resulting in 131 rams being confiscated by the NSPCA and the arrest of the then feedlot manager.”
Meredith said at the time that complaints were laid in terms of the Animal Protection Act No 71 of 1962 and further charges were brought for obstruction and defeating the ends of justice.
In a statement about the arrival of Al Messilah on Tuesday, Meredith said the exporters should carry all costs associated with the shipment.
“The monitoring of each shipment incurs huge costs for the NSPCA; it diverts resources from government veterinary services which also have to monitor and approve every animal, solely due to the NSPCA’s insistence on prioritising animal welfare.
“The financial responsibility for these processes should lie squarely with the exporters, who prioritise profit over animal wellbeing.”
She said the NSPCA remained fiercely opposed to “the cruel and unnecessary transportation of live animals by sea”.
“Until this practice ends, the NSPCA will leverage all available legal powers to ensure animal welfare is prioritised and continue with inspections to ensure that only healthy and suitable animals undergo such arduous journeys.”
Animal activists from Stop Live Export SA said animals within the live export system endured some of the gravest abuses worldwide.
Lara Black said: “The conditions experienced by animals during long-distance sea voyages violate many provisions of SA’s Animal Protection Act.
“Tens of thousands of animals crammed in pens on moving vessels experience immense suffering on a journey that lasts about 21 days.”
The animals were fed pellets on the vessels instead of the normal feed they were used to.
“Crew members are simply unable to provide sufficient welfare oversight for these animals as the live export process itself has inherent welfare harms.
“Such cruelty should never be tolerated in the pursuit of profits, and the law is clear on this.
“Both the government and the food industry bear the responsibility of developing our agricultural economy sustainably, fostering economic growth and food security without allowing systemic cruelty to these animals.
“It is their duty to administer animal welfare competently, a task rendered impossible within the live export system.
“We call on the department [of agriculture, land reform and rural development] to fulfil its mandate in protecting animal welfare and to ban the live export of our animals.”
Two members from Ban Animal Trading (BAT) protested against the export at the harbour on Wednesday.
They spoke to the premier about the live exports, and Mabuyane agreed that it would be preferable to slaughter the livestock locally and ship the meat abroad.
This would mean more jobs could be created and the skins could also be sold in the country.
BAT’s Kim Jones said while she was against animal slaughter, she felt the cruelty the animals aboard ship endured could be avoided if they were slaughtered locally.
She expressed her disgust over the trauma the animals faced during their journey.
“It’s horrific — in an enclosed area, thousands of them standing together for weeks on end ... They stand in their own faeces for all that time,” Jones said.
Agri Eastern Cape president Peter Cloete said as commercial farmers, they were satisfied with how the animals were treated and loaded for shipping.
“With this trading, we are really going to work to try to lift genetics with emerging farmers, because that is where the numbers lie.
“Our province has the highest number of livestock in the country.”
Mabuyane said the government had invested a lot in improving livestock, especially in meat and wool production.
“This transaction alone is more than a R200m investment.
“More than R1.2bn has been put into this trading as this is the sixth instalment of loading.
“I have seen where the livestock is placed and I am happy with the treatment they are receiving,” he said.
“There is enough water and food, and the ventilation for the animals is sufficient.”
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