ANIMAL IMPROVEMENT ACT: INPUT SOUGHT ON PROPOSED NEW IDENTIFICATION REGULATIONS

ANIMAL IMPROVEMENT ACT: INPUT SOUGHT ON PROPOSED NEW IDENTIFICATION REGULATIONS

• 06 October 2026
• Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development
• SA Legal Academy

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries has gazetted and called for input on draft animal identification regulations possibly intended to repeal and replace those in force since November 2003. The deadline for comments is 29 December 2026.

Prepared under the 1998 Animal Improvement Act, among other things the proposed new regulations:

• strengthen existing registration requirements in the context of prevailing integrated registration and genetic information system obligations
• provide for the registration of identification device manufacturers and distributors
• provide for the use of microchips with colour-coded tags as a means of identification
• distinguish between animals born locally and those imported
• expressly deal with areas sensitive to foot-and-mouth disease
• impose obligations on animal owners who lose an animal’s identification tag, and
• expand the list of animal species concerned to include:
  • dogs
  • donkeys
  • rabbits
  • ostriches, and
  • bee colonies.

Please click the links below for more information:

• draft regulations
• November 2003 regulations (without subsequent amendments to the fees schedule)

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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