THREATENED OR PROTECTED SPECIES: PROPOSED REGULATORY AMENDMENTS UNPACKED

THREATENED OR PROTECTED SPECIES: PROPOSED REGULATORY AMENDMENTS UNPACKED

• 12 October 2023
• Environmental Law
• SA Legal Academy

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment has republished and called for further input on draft amendments to regulations pertaining to listed threatened or protected terrestrial and freshwater species. The deadline for public comment has been set at 11 November 2023.

Originally released in February 2023 and withdrawn the following month, the amendments envisaged seek to address ‘shortcomings’ in the 2007 regulations on threatened or protected species. This is according to the accompanying Government Gazette notice. However, it is still not clear why so many sets of draft regulatory amendments were withdrawn within a few weeks of being released for stakeholder input.

This notwithstanding, once in force – among other things – the amended regulations will introduce:

• a prohibition on domestic trade in imported species
• restrictions on activities pertaining to certain species of freshwater fish
• additional grounds for declining registration and permit applications
• compulsory reporting requirements affecting both permit holders and issuing authorities
• a duty of care towards listed species for which certain types of permit are issued, and
• requirements in terms of which animal well-being will be factored into administrative decision-making.

This is expected to align them with other domestic legislative tools – including norms and standards – as well as provisions in Appendix 1 to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

• republished draft amendments
• CITES appendices
• SA Legal Academy report on earlier developments

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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