Vulture numbers are globally in a decline and many species are considered as either endangered or critically endangered. The same applies to vultures in South Africa, raising concerns about the long-term persistence of these ecologically important birds in this country. The government is obliged to exercise its fiducial duties to bring into force legislation and exercise multilateral environmental agreements that provide for the protection of vultures. Despite vultures’ importance and the paramount need to conserve them, there has been little critical review on the relevance and content of laws protecting vultures. We evaluated domestic and international legislation that provides for the protection of vultures in South Africa. These legal provisions were distributed across an array of biodiversity and non-biodiversity orientated statutes that are generally non-specific in nature, being embedded in general provisions that could be interpreted in a manner that provides for the protection of the country’s vultures. These legal provisions are also fragmented, making their enforcement difficult. Laws that are most geared towards protecting vultures in South Africa are environmental laws at provincial scales. For vultures to enjoy the highest degree of protection under these provincial laws, all species of vultures that occur in South Africa must be elevated to ‘Specially Protected’ status.

全球范围内的秃鹰数量在下降，许多物种被视为濒危或极度濒危。南非的秃鹰也是如此，这引起了人们对该国重要生态鸟类的长期生存的担忧。政府有义务履行其基准职责，以实施立法并执行旨在保护秃鹰的多边环境协议。尽管秃鹰很重要，而且最重要的是要保护它们，但对于保护秃鹰的法律的相关性和内容，几乎没有进行严格的审查。我们评估了保护南非秃鹰的国内和国际法规。这些法律规定分布在一系列以生物多样性和非生物多样性为导向的法规中，这些法规通常是非特定性的，并包含在可以解释为保护该国秃鹰的方式的一般条款中。这些法律规定也比较分散，难以执行。南非最适合保护秃鹰的法律是省级环境法律。为了使秃鹰在这些省级法律中享有最高程度的保护，必须将在南非发生的所有秃鹰种类都提升为“特殊保护”状态。这些法律规定也比较分散，难以执行。南非最适合保护秃鹰的法律是省级环境法律。为了使秃鹰在这些省级法律中得到最高程度的保护，必须将在南非发生的所有秃鹰种类都提升为“特殊保护”状态。这些法律规定也比较分散，难以执行。南非最适合保护秃鹰的法律是省级环境法律。为了使秃鹰在这些省级法律中享有最高程度的保护，必须将在南非发生的所有秃鹰种类都提升为“特殊保护”状态。