‘NSPCA has no interest in animal welfare’, says meat exporter

The Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision to dismiss an appeal to prevent thousands of live sheep to be exported to the Middle East was yet another blow to welfare organisations trying to ban the trade, but the SPCA says their fight is not over yet.

The South African National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) has vowed that the “war” to prevent cruelty was “far from over” and that they are consulting with their legal team in respect of this recent development. 

ALSO READ: Live sheep exports by sea will continue – with or without SA, says major meat producer

The ruling meant that 56,000 sheep could continue to be transported to Kuwait through international meat and trade company Al Mawashi’s Al Messilah vessel, along with heir counterpart, Livestock Transport Trading Company KSC (KLTT). 

The NSPCA’s welfare opposition to the export was based around concerns  over supposed lack of space, a lack of adequate bedding, and heat exhaustion due to high temperatures in the Gulf. 

Al Mawashi have branded the NSPCA’s litigation to ban live exports “baseless and malicious,” arguing that the company adheres to World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) standards. 

Al Mawashi South Africa managing director Ilyaas Ally said the NSPCA’s litigation has cost the Eastern Cape economy R300 million, due to the forfeiting of two shipments. 

The Al-Messilah vessel, used to transport animals from South Africa to the Middle East. Photo: Supplied

Ally went a step further, branding the NSPCA’s conduct “Machiavellian”, adding they possibly “misappropriated” funding received by local SPCA branches, donations and grant funding from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). 

“You have a situation where the NSPCA is out on a wild legal spending spree while SPCA branches often bemoan their financial difficulties and hardships. 

“It simply is a real injustice for the majority of SPCA branches that are frontline workers committed towards animal welfare and fighting real animal cruelty issues and cases, while the NSPCA are chasing the phantoms they conjured with possible branch level contributions,” he said.

Al Mawashi South Africa said that the NSPCA’s ailing financial situation is “self-inflicted”, setting the society “on a path of self-destruction”.

“It [NSPCA] decorated itself as a silver armoured knight for a fictitious animal cruelty crisis it manufactured to deceive the South African public, media and its own patrons,” according to the company’s statement.

“In short, NSPCA employed a copycat tactic used by animal rights groups to exploit SA live exports for donations and fundraising in our opinion,” the company’s statement said.

The company went as far as saying that the NSCPA has “no interest whatsoever in animal welfare”, saying instead they are an animal rights organisation that has an “anti-red meat and anti-livestock farming” agenda.

The NSPCA emphasised that the public must look to the “real fight in this matter”, which they said was “against the live export of sheep across the equator by sea.”

“Part B of the NSPCA’s court battle “will commence imminently”, they said. 

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