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Inspectorate

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Inspectorate Services
Our Inspectorate is the law-enforcement authority playing a key role
in animal welfare, performing a variety of functions; from sensitising children to compassion for animals to educating members of the public with regard to correct animal handling and care; from dealing with dogs and cats to pro-active inspections at all establishments where animals are housed, bred, or utilised; from undertaking rescues and emergencies to investigating complaints (including anonymous complaints) and taking appropriate action and laying criminal charges against people who have perpetrated deliberate or negligent acts of cruelty.

Compassionate / Confidential / Always on Duty

For emergencies or to report animal cruelty please call 

☎ 011 462 1610

☎ 083 381 4732 (After hours)

From prevention to prosecution, our Inspectors work tirelessly to stop suffering and ensure accountability. Their presence means that every act of cruelty has consequences and every animal has a voice.
On duty every hour of every day, our Inspectors protect animals, enforcing the Animals Protection Act . 71 of 1962  across the Randburg district.


Empowered by Law
The Randburg SPCA Inspectorate operates under the SPCA Act No. 169 of 1993, a South African law that establishes and controls local SPCAs. It creates the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) as a statutory body to manage animal welfare standards and enforce the Animals Protection Act No. 71 of 1962.


The SPCA Act No. 169 of 1993 gives our Inspectors:

  • Legislation Enforcement: While the Act governs the operations and registration of the societies themselves, it explicitly authorises inspectors to enforce core animal protection laws, such as the Animals Protection Act No. 71 of 1962.
  • Enforcement Powers: It empowers SPCA inspectors with unique statutory authority to enter premises, inspect living conditions and issue warnings. The seizing of animals requires a court-issued warrant unless immediate intervention is legally justified to save an animal in distress.
  • Private Prosecutions: In 2016, the Constitutional Court confirmed that the NSPCA holds the statutory power under this Act (read with the Criminal Procedure Act) to independently institute private prosecutions for animal cruelty.
 

Five Freedoms
The Inspectorate team ensure that every animal has the right to the Five Freedoms:

  • Freedom from Hunger and Thirst - by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour;

  • Freedom from Discomfort - by providing an appropriate environment inclucing shelter and a comfortable resting area;

  • Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease - by prevention, rapid diagnosis and treatment;

  • Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour - by providing sufficient space, proper faciliticies and company of the animals own kind; and

  • Freedom from Fear and Distress - by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.

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