Bienkie’s Law: Pets Are Family, Not Property

Bienkie’s Law: Pets Are Family, Not Property image
Bienkie's Law
2 months ago
Petition to The Speaker of National Assembly and more...

Bienkie was our dog — our baby, our best friend, our family. One day, he was stolen. Just like that, he was gone. We searched, we begged, we reported it. But nothing happened. Case 117/12/2025 was opened, but under South African law Bienkie was considered “property.”

That meant we had no rights. No access to information. No legal standing. No support. We were told to “move on.” But how do you move on when the system doesn’t even recognize your loss? When your grief is dismissed because the law says your dog is no different from a stolen appliance?

This injustice is why we are fighting for Bienkie’s Law — to change the way our country sees animals and the people who love them. We deserve a system that recognizes our pets as sentient beings. We deserve a law that protects them — and us.

Every day in South Africa, families are devastated when their beloved pets are stolen, abused, or killed — only to be told by the law that these animals are “just property.” If we don’t act, this will continue. Pets will keep being treated like microwaves instead of living, feeling beings. Government support will remain non-existent. The system will continue to fail us.

Bienkie’s Law calls for:

Recognition of pets as sentient beings

Stronger penalties for abuse and theft

A national registry for stolen animals

Parliament is reviewing animal welfare legislation right now. We have a chance to speak up and demand change. Every signature brings us closer to justice — not just for Bienkie, but for every voiceless animal and every grieving family.

Let’s make the law reflect what we already know: Our pets are not property. Our pets are family.

LetsFixSouthAfrica
United States of America
OurVoicesMatter
South Africa
Thoko Didiza
Zolani Mkiva
Mandla Mandela
Cyril Ramaphosa
Liam Chad Jacobs
Global
Stefania Ferrario
Jamie Logan
Elizabeth Turner
Amanda Grace Benitez
Earthling Ed
#BienkiesLaw
#JusticeForBienkie
#AnimalRightsSA
WFA
#FourPaws
#FourPawsInternational
#GreenScorpions
#Moby
#Ingrid Newkirk
#Jo-Anne McArthur
#Earthling Ed
#Ed Winters
#Dr. Jane Goodall
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Comments

  • Shirley Rattey 10 hours ago

    This is a no-brainer.

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  • Sarah de Jager 1 month ago

    Animals are sentient beings, not objects

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  • Alaine Tobias 2 months ago

    Pets are NOT OBJECTS OR OWNED.

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  • Ilse Venter 2 months ago

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  • Ruth van Rooyen 2 months ago

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  • Donald Ladwig 2 months ago

    I have pets and they need to be protected by a Law.

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  • Penny Barber 2 months ago

    Pets are family and not property.

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  • Erika Roberts 2 months ago

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  • Gillian Krauspe 2 months ago

    Our pets are our family members and deserve protection

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  • Celeste Els 2 months ago

    I also had my Thor disappear and never ever found him. It's so heart breaking when this happens.

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  • Surine Stander 2 months ago

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  • CANDICE VERMEULEN 2 months ago

    I am fighting for those that have no voice

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