- The Chianina Cattle Breeders’ Society spent 12 years fighting for official recognition.
- Officials created endless delays and hurdles for ordinary breeders.
- The court ruled that people should not be ignored by red tape when seeking fairness.
The Supreme Court of Appeal has ordered the formal registration of the Chianina Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa, ending a 12-year battle for official recognition under the Animal Improvement Act.
In a judgment delivered on 9 September 2026, the court dismissed the Registrar of Animal Improvement’s appeal with costs and upheld a High Court in Pretoria order directing the Registrar to register the society, issue its registration certificate and publish its registration in the Government Gazette.
The ruling means the breeders’ society for the rare Italian Chianina cattle breed will finally receive the legal recognition it has sought since first applying in 2014.
Registration was the only issue
The appeal was not about recognising the Chianina as a cattle breed. The breed has long been recognised in South Africa. The only question before the Supreme Court of Appeal was whether the Chianina Cattle Breeders’ Society was entitled to registration as the official animal breeders’ society for the breed.
The society lodged applications in 2014, 2018 and 2019, but the Registrar never made a final decision. Instead, officials repeatedly insisted that an impact assessment study had to be completed before the application could be approved.
The court found that the Registrar had applied the wrong legal test by treating the registration of a breeders’ society as if it were the registration of an animal breed.
Court says Registrar acted unlawfully
Judge E Heaton Nicholls, writing for the majority, held that the Animal Improvement Act does not require an impact assessment study before a breeders’ society can be registered.
“The decision is indeed a foregone conclusion”, the judgment states, finding that the statutory requirements for registration had been met and that no specialised scientific expertise was required to determine the application.
The court also criticised the Registrar for claiming that the Chianina breed was not recorded on South Africa’s national livestock database, known as INTERGIS, despite evidence showing otherwise.
Disgraceful administrative conduct
A central issue before the court was whether the breeders’ society should have continued pursuing internal appeal procedures before approaching the judiciary.
The majority ruled that years of missed deadlines, inaction and repeated failures by administrative officials had rendered the internal remedy ineffective.
Judge Nicholls described the matter as “a manifestation of disgraceful administrative conduct”, saying the delays demonstrated indifference to statutory time limits and the consequences for the breeders’ society.
The court concluded that referring the matter back to the Registrar would only prolong an already excessive delay and that substituting the administrative decision was both just and equitable.
The appeal was dismissed with costs, paving the way for the Chianina Cattle Breeders’ Society to be formally recognised.
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