National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004)RegulationsNational Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephants in South Africa, 2023 - effective 1 April 2023Chapter 1 : Interpretation, Purpose and Application1. Definitions |
In these Norms and Standards, a word or expression, or any derivative or other grammatical form of such word or expression, to which a meaning has been assigned in the Biodiversity Act, has the same meaning and, unless the context indicates otherwise—
means an iterative process of interventions to achieve management plan objectives in the face of uncertainty through development of an expectation of how the system may respond to a considered and planned intervention, implementation thereof, monitoring the outcomes, adapting management interventions and/or expectations thereby allowing continued improvement through learning;
means—
| (a) | the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003); |
| (b) | the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004); |
| (c) | any regulations issued in terms of section 97 of the Biodiversity Act or referred to in section 49 of the Protected Areas Act, which apply to the implementation of these Norms and Standards; |
| (d) | any Norms and Standards issued in terms of the Biodiversity Act that may apply to the management of elephants in South Africa; |
| (e) | any other relevant Act that may be applicable to the management of elephants,including, but not limited to,the following Acts: |
| (i) | Animals Protection Act, 1962 (Act No. 71 of 1962); |
| (ii) | Performing Animals Protection Act, 1935 (Act No. 24 of 1935); |
| (iii) | Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965 (Act No. 101of 1965); and |
(iv) Veterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Act, 1982 (Act No. 19 of 1982);
(f) provincial conservation legislation; or
(g) Code of Practice for the Translocation of Certain Wild Herbivore (SABS 0331);
means the National EnvironmentalManagement: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004);
means an elephant that is not a wild elephant;
means a rehabilitation facility, commercial exhibition facility,temporary holding facility or sanctuary;
has the same meaning as defined in the TOPS Regulations;
"commercial exhibition facility"
has the same meaning as defined in the TOPS Regulations;
has the same meaning as defined in the TOPS Regulations, and includes a captive facility;
has the meaning as having been defined by the TOPS Regulations;
has the same meaning as having been defined by the TOPS Regulations;
means to intentionally kill an elephant for management purposes;
means a wild or captive elephant of the species Loxodonta africana;
means all elephants living in a given defined area;
means—
| (a) | a wild elephant that has escaped from an extensive wildlife system, but has not become a damage-causing animal; or |
| (b) | an elephant that has escaped from a controlled environment; |
has the same meaning as defined in the TOPS Regulations;
means Gonadotrophin releasing hormone vaccines;
has the meaning as defined in the TOPS Regulations;
has the same meaning as having been defined in the TOPS Regulations;
has the same meaning as defined in the Biodiversity Act;
in relation to a protected area has the same meaning as defined in the Protected Areas Act;
means the management plan referred to in paragraph 6(1) relating to the management of elephants;
means an elephant calf—
| (a) | that has not been weaned yet and is likely to be less than 4 years of age; |
| (b) | of which its mother has died or has permanently abandoned it; |
| (c) | that has been rejected by the elephant population of which it forms part; and |
| (d) | that is likely to die if it is not taken into captivity; |
has the same meaning as defined by the TOPS Regulations;
has the same meaning as defined in the Natural Scientific Professions Act, 2003 (Act No.27 of 2003};
means the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003);
means porcine zona pellucida vaccine;
has the same meaning as defined in the TOPS Regulations; "registered game farm" means a game farm registered in terms of the TOPS Regulations; "rehabilitation facility" has the same meaning as defined in the TOPS Regulations;
means—
| (a) | the treatment and recovery of a sick or injured elephant; |
| (b) | the rearing of an orphan calf for the purpose of releasing it onto an extensive wildlife system as soon as possible; or |
| (c) | the preparation of an elephant or group of elephants that have been kept in a controlled environment for purposes other than temporary captivity, for later release onto an extensive wildlife system; |
means the Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephants in South Africa, published under Government Notice R.251 in Government Gazette 30833 of 29 February 2008;
means the owner or manager of an elephant, the owner or manager of the land on which an elephant normally ranges or the facility in which an elephant is kept, or the management authority of a protected area on which elephants normally range;
means an elephant—
| (a) | from a known or unknown locality in respect of which the responsible person cannot readily be determined; or |
| (b) | roaming across an international boundary from a neighbouring country into the Republic; |
means a medicine or other substance prescribed under section 22A of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965 (Act No.101 of 1965};
has the same meaning as defined in the TOPS Regulations;
means the basic unit of elephants that constitutes a matriarch with her dependent offspring, her adult daughters and their dependent offspring, and other related or bonded adult females that spend the majority of their time in close proximity and coordinate their behaviour and movement patterns;
means a wild elephant that is kept in a controlled environment for a short period of time for—
| (a) | translocation, transfer or transport; |
| (b) | quarantine ; |
| (c) | veterinary treatment; |
| (d) | rehabilitation, in the case of sick or injured elephants, or orphan calves; or |
| (e) | any other similar purpose; |
has the same meaning as defined in the TOPS Regulations;
means the regulations pertaining to listed threatened or protected terrestrial species and fresh water species promulgated in terms of section 97 of the Biodiversity Act;
means the process of capturing a live elephant at a particular location, the conveying or transporting of the elephant, and the release of the elephant in another location;
means a person registered with the South African Veterinary Council to operate as such; and
means an elephant that—
| (a) | is in an extensive wildlife system; |
| (b) | has escaped from an extensive wildlife system; |
| (c) | originates from an extensive wildlife system but is in temporary captivity, pending release into an extensive wildlife system; or |
| (d) | a calf born in a captive facility from a wild elephant that is kept in temporary captivity. |