Where do the South Australian parties stand on animal welfare this election?
South Australian Election 21 March 2026
About the animal welfare policy asks
Phase out battery cages
Implement the agreed and endorsed Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry into South Australian legislation before the end of the 2026 with a phase out date for conventional battery cages of 2032.
End recreational duck shooting
Introduce legislation to ban recreational duck and quail shooting.
Greyhound racing
Introduce legislation to phase out the greyhound racing industry by 1 January 2029 with appropriate transition plans for the rehoming of remaining greyhounds and transition support for workers.
State animal welfare authority
Strengthen animal welfare enforcement arrangements by establishing a South Australian Animal Welfare Authority as an independent statutory body under the Animal Welfare Act 2025 with responsibility for administering the Act, and with an appropriate budget allocation to ensure adequate resourcing. (Note: this would not replace RSPCA inspectors – they would report to the Authority).
Phase out live lamb cutting (mulesing)
Introduce legislation to phase out live lamb cutting (mulesing) by 2030, require multi-modal pain relief while the practice continues, and promote the breeding of fly-strike resistant sheep.
Stronger wildlife protections
Strengthen protections for wildlife by:
Ending the dingo bounty
Requiring landholders to trial wombat gates before obtaining a licence to kill
Introducing new regulations under the Biodiversity Act 2025 to require applications for permits to take or interfere with wildlife to provide clear evidence of damage and the exhaustion of non-lethal options, the publication of decisions made with respect to such applications, and for permits to be accompanied by enforceable welfare and competency standards for carrying out such activities
Prohibiting the allocation of commercial kangaroo shooting permits from zones with previously low or no population data
Committing to completing the Inquiry into Kangaroo and Wallaby Populations in SA
What can you do?
Educate & share
Learn where the parties and candidates stand on key reforms for animals and share our scorecards with your networks.
Engage with candidates/parties
We’ve created a toolkit to help you contact the parties and let them know what you think about these issues.
Follow the Alliance
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About the scorecards
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At the start of the election campaign we contacted all major parties and listed candidates in key electorates asking for their responses to key Alliance policies. Six of these policies are featured on the scorecards. In completing the scorecards, we took into consideration responses to our emails as well as previous public comments, voting patterns and policy decisions.
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The scorecards have been prepared to raise awareness of the interests of animals and prevent animal suffering by summarising the position of political parties on the key animal welfare policy issues relevant to the charitable purposes of the Australian Alliance for Animals.
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The Alliance does not promote or oppose political parties or direct people on how to vote.
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The scorecards refer to the parties by the following abbreviations.
Labor = Australian Labor Party (South Australia Branch)
Liberals = Liberal Party of Australia (SA Division)
Greens = Australian Greens SA
Animal Justice = Animal Justice Party
One Nation = Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party
Tammy Franks = Tammy Franks
SA-BEST = SA-BEST Incorporated
Stephen Pallaras = STEPHEN PALLARAS REAL CHANGE SA
Legalise Cannabis = Legalise Cannabis South Australia Party
Jing Lee = Jing Lee - Better Community
Sarah Game = Sarah Game Fair Go for Australians
