“In accordance with the court order, handed down in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha on Wednesday, the municipality will also be expected to help the newly appointed service provider with veterinary services for the animals, until they can appoint their own experts in the field.”

“This comes after the Animal Anti-Cruelty League (AACL) in Nelson Mandela Bay reported a series of shortcomings in the care provided for animals at the municipal pound in recent weeks, after Busy Bees took over facility operations in January 2026.”

“A shortage of animal handling equipment and expertise, inadequate resources for impounding stray livestock and a lack of veterinary services were among the list of complaints the AACL had raised since February, following inspections at the facility in Kariega.”

“They approached the court for an interdict that would prevent Busy Bees from operating the pound, and that would allow operations to revert to the previous service provider, the SPCA. The application further stated that Busy Bees could resume operations once it had brought its operations in line with animal welfare legislation.”

“The application was brought against Busy Bees, the municipality, the acting city manager and the acting executive director of public health, whose directorate is responsible for the handling of stray animals in the city.”

“In its court papers, AACL also questioned the process through which Busy Bees was appointed as the service provider, taking over operations from the SPCA, which had run the pound for close to 50 years.”

“In an affidavit before the court, AACL animal inspector Beverley Rademeyer said complaints about the facilities at the pound had been received in February. The AACL subsequently conducted its own visit, accompanied by officials from the NSPCA, an animal behaviourist and, at times, the police for help in executing legally obtained warrants to conduct inspections.”

“She said they found, among many other concerns, several instances where animals were not provided with adequate bedding and slept on cement floors, were kept in overcrowded enclosures and enclosures that were not properly cleaned, and were provided with food unsuitable for their age or size.”