Who Owns the Game? Wild Animals, the Game Theft Act & Ownership

VWVH Law Insights — June 2026. A plain-language guide for game farm owners, hunters and neighbouring landowners on when you own wild game, when you lose ownership, and when someone else can lawfully claim it.

Picture this: a kudu clears your fence line and settles on the neighbouring farm. Who owns it now — you, or the landowner it wandered onto? In South Africa the answer is rarely “finders keepers”, and getting it wrong can be an expensive mistake.

Key insight: Sufficiently enclosed game does not become res nullius (ownerless) the moment it escapes — and a formal certificate is not the only way to prove sufficient enclosure.

Do you lose ownership when your game escapes?

If you have taken the necessary steps to enclose game on your land, you do not lose ownership when that game escapes. The Supreme Court of Appeal in Medbury confirmed that a formal certificate is not the only protection — what matters is that adequate steps were taken to confine the game.

Can you claim game that wanders onto your land?

You cannot acquire ownership of game entering your land if it was already sufficiently enclosed elsewhere. Appropriation is only possible where the animal is genuinely res nullius. Important: Taking possession of another person’s game without consent may be a criminal offence under the Game Theft Act.

What the Game Theft Act 105 of 1991 protects

• Wild animals in their natural state are res nullius — owned by nobody. Ownership is acquired through effective control (appropriation): physical possession plus the intention to own.
• At common law, escaped game that cannot be recaptured or pursued reverts to res nullius.
• Section 2(1)(a) — statutory protection: an owner who keeps game on “sufficiently enclosed” land does not lose ownership upon escape.
• Certificate of sufficient enclosure (s 2(2)(a)): issued by the Provincial Premier; species-specific; valid for 3 years; lapses on sale or lease of the land.
• NEMLAA 2022 (effective 30 June 2023): Section 45 confirms the State remains custodian of faunal biological resources escaping from state-managed land. This protection does not extend to private game owners.

How do you acquire ownership of wild game? (Appropriation / occupatio)

• Appropriation (occupatio) is an original method of acquiring ownership — no prior owner or transfer is required.
• Ownership vests automatically by operation of law (ex lege) once all requirements are met, and applies to res nullius only.
• Requirement 1 — physical control (corpus): the animal must be under effective control — in a pen, kraal, vehicle, or on sufficiently enclosed land.
• Requirement 2 — intention to own (animus domini): the person must intend to become the owner, determined factually.
• Requirement 3 — res nullius: at the time control is exercised, the animal must belong to nobody.

What the Medbury ruling (SCA, 2018) decided

The SCA confirmed that the certificate is not the only basis for protection. The Act’s purpose is to protect owners who took the necessary steps to enclose game. Adequate enclosure — with or without a formal certificate — retains ownership upon escape.

What this means for game farm owners

If the original owner had sufficient enclosure, escaped game is not res nullius — appropriation by a neighbouring landowner is not possible. A landowner can only acquire ownership where the animal was genuinely ownerless at the time of acquisition.

This newsletter is a general information guide only and does not constitute legal advice. Every transaction is unique — contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.

Van Wyk Van Heerden Inc. | 021 871 1050 | info@vwvh.co.za | vwvh.co.za Prepared by: Lance Donian — Commercial Attorney & Conveyancer | lance@vwvh.co.za

Sources: Game Theft Act 105 of 1991; Eastern Cape Parks v Medbury (Pty) Ltd 2018 (4) SA 206 (SCA); Codevilla v Kennedy-Smith NO and Others [2024] 4 All SA 637 (SCA).