- A protest organised by Four Paws called for political parties to include animal welfare and sentience in their manifestos.
- The group presented a memorandum with demands such as recognizing animal sentience
- The protest also launched an animal-welfare guide to help South Africans advocate for animal rights
Bringing animals to Parliament, giving them a voice where decisions really count was the focus of a protest held outside Parliament this morning.
Today marks World Animal Day, a Global Day of Action for animal rights and welfare.
The protest was organised by the global animal welfare organisation Four Paws and is a sequel to the organisation’s first State of Animal Welfare Address held in May this year.
Top of the agenda then was a welfare address calling on political parties to include animal welfare and sentience in their political manifestos.
Today the group handed a memorandum endorsed by several organisations outlining their demands, which include:
- Ending the Captive Keeping of Lions for commercial purposes and closing existing facilities, with a call to expand this to all big cat species.
- Improving Companion Animal Welfare by establishing national and local programs for veterinary services, sterilisation, vaccination, and education.
- Ending Live Animal Transport for export by sea, calling for more humane alternatives.
- Promoting Food System Change to prioritise sustainable and animal-friendly practices in agriculture.
- Preventing the Next Pandemic by adopting a One Health approach that includes the welfare of animals in national health strategies.
- Adopting Higher Animal Welfare Standards with stricter regulations and enforcement to address the overpopulation crisis and factory farming
Fiona Miles, director of Four Paws SA, said the purpose of the protest is, once again, to ensure animal welfare lies at the heart of laws and policies.
She said: “We want to bring to the attention of Parliament that companion farms and wild animals need better protection for the planet’s future and the future of animals. We are all interconnected.”
Four Paws also launched the #LiveKinder Animal Welfare Advocacy Guide, aiming to transform South Africa’s animal welfare policy through knowledge co-creation, learning, partnerships, and convening voices.
Celiwe Shivambu, campaign officer for climate change and pandemics at Four Paws, said: “Our hope is for people in South Africa to call for a caring society. We believe a country’s greatness can be judged by how its leaders treat its most vulnerable. Today we are speaking for those who don’t have voices. We are asking people to lend us your voices and speak on behalf of animal welfare.”
Rosanne Howartz said she joined the protest because she believed animals need more support.
“Pets are part of the family, so makes me sad when pets suffer. It would be nice if government supported animal-welfare organisations. We need more awareness of animal welfare, especially kids. We must be kinder towards animals.”
