# Draft Meat Safety Act

- Link: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/draft-meat-safety-act/
- Published: 2020-04-04T16:47:02+02:00
- Author: dearSA

[ Browse the DearSA website](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/pdps/)

(Ms) T. Didiza, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development invites
all interested institutions, organizations and individuals to submit written comments
on the proposed update to Schedule 1, as provided for in section 1(2) of the Meat
Safety Act, 2000 (Act No 40 of 2000), extending the list of animals to which the
Act applies.

### **43218 **participants had a say (now closed)

[view full new list of animals and summary here ](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/draft-meat-safety-act/summary/)

[download a PDF of the public submissions (9.7mb) ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20190939/Draft-Meat-Safety-Act-complete-redacts.pdf)

[view the participation campaign report here ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20190940/Draft-Meat-Safety-Act-report-.pdf)

![DearSA Meat Safety Act](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/
04/20191104/meat-safety-Act.jpg "meat-safety-Act")

![DEAR-SOUTH-AfFRICA](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/
02/08135845/DEAR-SOUTH-AfFRICA.png "DEAR-SOUTH-AfFRICA")

This draft amendment extends the list classifying animals for slaughter, consumption,
import, export and sale to include many threatened species in South Africa including
rhino, elephant, giraffe and more. It also includes undefined birds, reptiles and
fish.

## Have your say – shape this policy.

**Error:** Contact form not found.

**Important to note;**_ This is a legally mandated public policy-shaping process.
By using DearSA’s platform you ensure an accurate record is held by civil society(
so government cannot dispute participation facts or figures) which forms a solid
foundation for a legal case should the necessity arise. It is not a petition. Your
input __must, by law, be individually acknowledged and considered by government._

### DOWNLOAD DOCUMENTS

 * [Draft Amendment and notice](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202002/43050gon201.pdf)
 * [Meat Safety Act, 2000](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a40-000.pdf)

### IN THE MEDIA

 * [Eating Our Wildlife – Credence Institute](https://www.credenceinstitute.org/post/eating-our-wildlife)

In February of this year, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development,
Thoko Didiza, proposed an amendment to the Meat Safety Act to include a number of
wild animals, including lions, rhinos and elephants.

The Meat Safety Act tries to ensure that meat is safe for consumption via establishing
the national standards for abattoirs and regulating the meat trade industry. By 
including wild animals in the Meat Safety Act, then, the South African government
is sanctioning the commercialisation of bushmeat.

The groundwork for the possible large-scale farming of wild animals was laid last
year, when the then Minister of Agriculture, Senzani Zokwana, amended the Animal
Improvement Act, which saw 33 wild species reclassified as livestock.

In light of the current pandemic, these pieces of legislation should concern us 
all. The link between wildlife and zoonotic diseases is well documented, but a short
recap is merited. [_[read more]_](https://www.credenceinstitute.org/post/eating-our-wildlife)

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