The draft regulations, introduced under the Animal Improvement Act 62 of 1998, will require owners to provide two forms of identification for every declared animal, such as an electronic RFID and a visual ear tag, or a microchip and a tag. The legislation casts a surprisingly wide net, affecting owners of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, ostriches, horses, donkeys, rabbits, dogs, and even bee colonies.
"This legislation doesn't just affect large-scale commercial agricultural operations; it impacts pet and animal owners across the board," says Chloe Castle, CEO of Dear SA. "The subsistence farmer with two goats, the family with a horse, and the household with dogs or rabbits will all be forced to comply with these stringent rules. We need to ask whether this is a practical and fair burden to place on ordinary South Africans."
According to the gazetted draft, key concerns include:
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Financial Burden: Owners are responsible for the entire cost of compliance, including tags, vet fees, and brand registrations, with microchips estimated to cost between R150 and R275 each. The government will not be providing free tags.
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Strict Timeframes: Animals must be tagged rapidly; for example, sheep and goats must be tagged within three weeks of birth, and piglets within just one week.
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Administrative Red Tape: All owners, land, and individual animals must be registered on the National Database, INTERGIS. Furthermore, any sale, death, slaughter, or even a lost tag must be reported to the Department of Agriculture or SAPS within seven days. Simply burying a dead animal without reporting it will be considered a legal offence.
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Harsh Penalties: The draft introduces severe punishments. Non-compliance, including failing to tag, misusing tags, or moving untagged animals, can result in a fine or up to two years in jail, a drastic increase from the previous six-month penalty.
As a non-profit organisation dedicated to facilitating public participation, Dear SA warns that ignoring these draft regulations could have disastrous consequences for animal keepers across the country.
"Public participation is your constitutional right," Castle adds. "If this becomes law, it applies to all of South Africa. We have built a platform to make it easy for citizens to have their say and ensure the government understands the real-world implications of this administrative burden."
The public has until 29 December 2026 to object or submit comments.
South Africans are encouraged to review the regulations and submit their formal comments directly to the government through the Dear SA platform.
Ends.
