Stop the Suffering.
Ban live export now!
Together, we can create a more compassionate South Africa for all beings
Our Promise: Protecting Animals, Ending Live Export Suffering
Stop Live Export South Africa is a members-based, voluntary association dedicated to ending the cruel and unnecessary practice of live animal export by sea for slaughter.
Every year, thousands of animals are shipped from South Africa to foreign countries, in conditions that cause immense suffering, only to be slaughtered at their destination.
South Africans do not want this. We embrace the spirit of ‘Ubuntu’, which recognises the interconnectedness of all beings, and that humans are part of a larger and more significant relational, communal, societal, environmental and spiritual world.
WHAT MAKES LIVE EXPORT SO BAD?
Live export is an unnecessary trade that subjects millions of animals worldwide to extreme suffering. They endure long, stressful journeys that last for days or weeks — only to be slaughtered at the destination market.
South Africa has laws in place to govern animal welfare, but once these export vessels leave South African waters, there are no laws to safeguard animal welfare – and no way to guarantee monitoring or protection for these animals.
In transit, the animals often suffer injury, heat stress, and severe mental and physical distress from being confined in cramped conditions.
South Africa’s wake-up call
Globally, many animals have died on board. This was brought into sharp focus in February 2024 when the Al Kuwait vessel, transporting cattle from Brazil to Iraq, docked in Cape Town. The ship caused a city-wide stink that highlighted the plight of the estimated 19,000 animals on board.
Inspectors from the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals boarded the vessel to assess the conditions and inspect the animals. The NSPCA said the smell was caused by the conditions the livestock had endured, having spent two-and-a-half weeks on board the ship, standing in their own waste, with a dangerous build-up of faeces and ammonia. Several animals were in such a bad state that they had to be euthanised before the ship departed for the next leg of its journey.
Animal welfare concerns in the global live export trade
- Overcrowding and unsanitary conditions during transportation
- Dehydration, hunger, and exhaustion
- Motion sickness, often leading to injury or death
- Exposure to extreme weather and heat stress
- Separation from their family and social groups
- High risk of animals getting sick and spreading zoonotic diseases — a biohazard risk
- Problems also often arise at some export destinations —inhumane handling, further transportation, and slaughter
Live export is not only unnecessary — it is inhumane. Stopping it is the only way to prevent this suffering.
Sign our petition
Sign our petition calling on the South African government
to ban live exports
Our Partners
Our Partners share our overarching goal to establish a vigorous social movement aimed at promoting public awareness of the inherent injustice and cruelty in the live animal export trade on both local and global levels, and to influence governmental regulations concerning live animal export. However, our Partners are indemnified from any perceived affiliation with the actions and decisions undertaken by Stop Live Export SA in pursuit of these objectives.