JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE LAW & POLICY Could Culling of Elephants Be Considered Inhumane and Illegal in South African Law? Rob Slotow* , Andrew Blackmore* , Michelle Henley , Karen Trendler and Marion Garaï ABSTRACT Elephant culling is included in National Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephants in the Republic of South Africa, as a last-resort option to reduce elephant population size when required to meet reserve objectives. Recent judg- ments in South African courts have emphasised the importance of considering animal welfare in conservation. We assess the approved method of culling elephant family units, in terms of the legal and policy framework in South Africa, as well as considering elephant welfare and wellbeing. We find that the current culling method is likely to be inhumane, and potentially inconsistent with the Constitution, as interpreted by the judi- ciary. In addition, in certain circumstances, culling is illegal in terms of the Animals Protection and Meat Safety Acts, and contravenes World Organisation for Animal Health and global standards for the slaughter of animals. We recommend con- sidering a moratorium on culling of elephant family units, as well as of lone bulls, until humane slaughter methods, and standard operation procedures that ensure an extremely high probability of instantaneous (“clean”) kill, are developed and approved. We recommend an ethics review process for con- servation management interventions involving wellbeing risks to animals, such as is required for animal research. Notwithstanding other imperatives that need consideration, conservation practice should better balance welfare, to align with both South African legislation and global norms. Te greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. —attributed to Mahatma Gandhi 1. Introduction With rapidly expanding human pressure and global change, there is increas- ing pressure on wildlife populations across Africa, as well as increasing https://doi.org/10.1080/13880292.2021.1972529 © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CONTACT Rob Slotow slotow@ukzn.ac.za School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P Bag X01 Scottsville 3209, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa; Andrew Blackmore School of Law, University of KwaZulu- Natal, P Bag X01 Scottsville 3209, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa; Michelle Henley Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystem Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Private Bag X5, Florida 1710, South Africa; Karen Trendler Elephants Alive, PO Box 960, Hoedspruit, 1380, South Africa; Mariaon Garaï Elephant Specialist Advisory Group, Vaalwater, Limpopo, South Africa. *These authors share joint frst authorship of this article.