Level 4 lockdown: Can you adopt an animal yet?
Potential adopters are being turned away from animal organisations who are unsure whether they can adopt animals or not.
Until the government allows it, adoption of animals is not permitted.
There is much confusion among animal welfare groups as to whether adoption is permitted under Level 4 restrictions.
The Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa has affected us all. Now imagine knowing there are people out there wanting to give you a second chance but you can’t go to your new forever home? This is the life of thousands of animals in shelters across the nation.
Frustration grows as eager community members are dumbfounded as to why animal adoptions are not allowed. Societies have been inundated with adoption requests leaving many unanswered questions and irate potential adopters. These are unique circumstances as many would-be adopters have much more valuable time on their hands to integrate a new furry member to their family.
Shelter animals across South Africa plead to be adopted. Photo: File
Under Level 4 Covid-19 restrictions it is unclear whether animal adoption is permitted. According to Lungi Mtshali from Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), adoptions of animals is not permitted as animal adoption is not an essential service.
“If it has not been mentioned in the gazette, then it is not allowed. As you can imagine, we cannot list every action that is not allowed, the list would be too long,” said Mtshali.
Read the full gazetted document here.
Further questions have been sent to COGTA in regards to animal adoptions such as:
- Why the adoption of animals has not been permitted?
- When or which level will the adoption of animals be allowed?
- If animal adoption organisations follow strict social distancing and sanitation protocols, would adoptions then be permitted?
The National Councils of SPCAs (NSPCA) sent a request to the Covid-19 Nerve Centre Committee on behalf of all SPCAs and animal welfare organisations around South Africa, asking for their permission to allow adoptions to re-open under the Level 4 restriction. To date, the NSPCA has not received a response.
The concerns surrounding adoptions are that access to the SPCAs is strictly restricted – this is for the health and safety of the staff members who are vital for their community’s animals’ welfare, as well as the moral health of society, as well as the health and safety of members of the public.
A statement by the NSPCA said, “We would like to assure the public that rehoming animals is important to the SPCA Movement, however, we are obligated to adhere to any law or regulation set out by the South African Government.
Once adoptions are permitted, NSPCA’s public relations officer Meg Wilson said, “Pre-home inspections are a legal requirement for SPCAs to undertake – these would need to be undertaken with great care, ensuring that the correct PPE is worn, that the inspector and respective home follows social distancing protocols and sanitation.”
Source: Rosebank Killarney Gazette (Caxton Local Media)
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