The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has again slammed fresh attempts to legalise the cruel “sports” of hunting with dogs and greyhound racing. A memorandum recently submitted to the Presidency by the Amaphisi Hunters’ Association (AHA) proposes the legalisation of both.

The NSPCA has firmly opposed greyhound racing and hunting with dogs for decades. For over 32 years, the NSPCA has collated extensive evidence demonstrating the abuse, neglect, and cruelty inherent in these activities. Since dog racing was banned in 1949, multiple court cases, commissions, and draft policies – from a 2003 Free State High Court ruling to a 2014 Department of Trade and Industry review – have all rejected attempts to resurrect it.

Now, yet again, calls for the legalisation of these exploitative practices have resurfaced. In August 2025, the AHA demanded revisions to a wide range of laws, including environmental and animal welfare legislation such as the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 (NEMBA) and the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 (APA), respectively. Alongside the South African Dog Racing Association (SADRA) and GFA, the AHA argues for legalisation on the grounds of economic benefit, job creation, and the promotion of culture and tradition.

These claims hide a harsher truth: a small, elite group profits while dogs pay the price. The AHA even went as far as to propose that it should become the sole legally authorised body for hunting with dogs, with exclusive rights to both hunt with dogs on state-owned land and breed hunting dogs, all of which is to supposedly be funded by the greyhound racing industry.

The NSPCA fully respects cultural practices and economic opportunities that protect both people and animals and do not involve cruelty. Our opposition is to practices that deliberately inflict suffering.

The association attempts to allay animal welfare concerns by suggesting that when hunting, dogs would remain restrained until a “target” is identified, that hunting seasons would be regulated, and that only a select number of licenses to hunt would be issued annually. It further calls for organisations such as the NSPCA, which they term “unauthorised”, to immediately cease their “harassment.”

Cruelty is inherent in these practices. Dogs used for racing and hunting are frequently deprived of adequate food, water, shelter, and veterinary treatment. These activities contribute to overbreeding and overpopulation, and they contravene the APA, which prohibits baiting or inciting one animal to attack another. The dogs used in hunting will decimate the prey species, leading to the depletion of our natural fauna.

It is not only the dogs that suffer: the prey animals often endure the worst cruelty. Frequently, the dogs do not kill instantly, leaving the targeted animal to experience prolonged pain before being killed – sometimes by brutal beating.

“We cannot use the facade of tradition and job creation to justify what is ultimately the deliberate and cruel commodification and exploitation of animals,” says Grace de Lange, the NSPCA’s Chief Operations Officer. “These lucrative activities only benefit the human patrons. The welfare of the dogs and the preservation of the prey species are at significant risk.”

The NSPCA has submitted an urgent letter to the Office of the Presidency, and the Department of Agriculture, strongly opposing the application by the AHA to legalise these unethical and inhumane practices, which are in direct conflict with South Africa’s animal protection laws and the NSPCA’s legal mandate to prevent cruelty. This mandate is not a matter of opinion: the NSPCA is fulfilling its statutory duty under the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 (APA) to investigate, prevent and act against cruelty to animals.

We call on all South Africans to stand with the NSPCA in rejecting these attempts to legalise cruelty and to support the protection and welfare of the dogs and the wild animals they are forced to hunt.

Source: NSPCA