Terms & Conditions

Version 2026-08-04

1. About these terms

These terms govern your use of Wildlife Marketplace — the website, mobile app and related services. By creating an account you agree to these terms, our Privacy Policy, our published Rules of Auction and our Notice & Takedown procedure. When you accept them at registration we record the date and the version you accepted. If we materially change these terms we will publish a new version here and notify account holders.

2. Who we are and what we do

Wildlife Marketplace is a digital marketplace and escrow facilitator for the South African wildlife industry: live game sales, game auctions, hunting packages and wildlife transport. We connect buyers, sellers, outfitters and transport companies — we never take ownership, possession or physical custody of any animal or goods. Funds flow from the buyer into third-party escrow and are released to the seller only after the conditions in section 6 are met. The sale agreement is always between buyer and seller; we are not a party to it.

3. Accounts, eligibility and verification

• You must be 18 years or older and legally capable of contracting.
• All account information you provide must be accurate and kept up to date.
• Identity verification is required before you can transact. Our verification uses biometric identity checks (ID document plus a liveness selfie check) against official records. Higher-value activity requires enhanced verification, including proof of residence (see section 11 on FICA).
• Sellers must additionally complete seller verification appropriate to their tier (casual, registered or full dealer) before listing; auctions and hunts require the applicable seller tier.
• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials and two-factor device secure.

4. Listings and content

When you create a listing you warrant that everything in it is accurate — the animal or offer described, the photos, the price, the location and any measurements or genetics claims. You grant us a non-exclusive licence to display your listing content on the platform and in platform marketing.

Automated screening. Every new or edited listing is screened by an automated AI system that reviews the photos, title, description, price and location for inconsistencies or signs of misrepresentation, including indications that photos may be AI-generated or manipulated. Screening results are advisory flags for our human review team — a person, not the AI, decides whether a listing goes live. By submitting a listing you consent to this automated processing of your listing content.

We may decline, require changes to, suspend or remove any listing at our discretion, including where screening or moderation identifies concerns.

5. Auctions

Wildlife Marketplace acts as an online auctioneer within the meaning of regulation 30 of the Consumer Protection Act regulations (GNR.293/2011). Every auction is conducted under our published Rules of Auction. We maintain the bidders' record required by regulation 26 and the vendor's roll required by regulation 30. In accordance with regulation 30(6), our liability for delivery of goods purchased on auction is not excluded; where a seller fails to deliver, escrow protections apply.

• Bids are binding offers. The highest bid at or above any reserve, at close, wins.
• You must complete auction registration (and hold full verification) before bidding.
• A winning bidder must complete checkout within the published payment window. If you fail to pay, the auction may be relisted and repeated defaults may lead to suspension.
• Your IP address and login details are recorded for each auction you register for.

6. Payments, escrow and fees

• All platform payments are processed into escrow held by an independent, licensed escrow provider. We never hold your money in our own accounts.
• Release of seller funds. For collected purchases, escrow is released when the buyer confirms acceptance at handover. Where platform-arranged transport is used, escrow is released when the independent transporter validates the animals at loading (the point at which risk passes to the buyer under standard industry terms), or at delivery confirmation, per the arrangement shown at checkout.
• Fees. The platform charges the seller a commission on each completed sale (published at checkout and on the listing flow — currently 3% plus escrow processing fees). Fees are shown before you commit to a transaction.
• If a transaction is cancelled before release — by the buyer, seller, an admin decision or an expired payment — the buyer's deposit is refunded through the escrow provider and the listing may be relisted.
• Attempting to move a platform-originated transaction off-platform to avoid fees or escrow protections is a breach of these terms.

7. Hunt bookings

• Hunt listings are offered by independent outfitters. Depending on the listing's booking policy, your request is either confirmed instantly (verified buyers) or first approved by the outfitter.
• An approved booking must be paid in full within the published payment window or it expires and the dates are released.
• Payment is held in escrow until after the hunt: released when you confirm completion, or automatically after the published post-hunt period if you take no action.
• Cancellation before payment is free for both parties. Cancellation after payment is handled through the dispute process; statutory cooling-off rights under the CPA and ECTA are not affected where they apply.
• Hunting is regulated: you are responsible for holding any licences the hunt requires of you, and the outfitter is responsible for their professional-hunter licensing and provincial permissions.

8. Wildlife transport

• Transport companies on the platform are independent operators vetted and onboarded by us. Depending on the company, transport is either arranged and paid directly with the company (referral) or quoted and paid through platform escrow.
• The transport contract is between the transport company and the party who engages it. We facilitate the introduction, the quote and — for escrow deals — the payment, but we are not the carrier and do not perform, supervise or control the transport. Responsibility for the carriage, including the animals while in transit, lies with the transporter and the parties under their transport agreement and the risk rule below — not with the platform.
• Where platform transport is used, the transporter independently validates the animals at loading against the listing (species, identification, condition). A failed validation freezes the seller's escrow and opens a dispute.
• Risk in live animals passes to the buyer at loading, in line with standard South African game-industry terms, unless the parties expressly agree otherwise in writing.
• Moving live game legally requires permits (provincial conveyance/export/import, TOPS for listed species, state-veterinary movement permits where applicable). The platform generates a per-move checklist as guidance, but obtaining and holding the required permits remains the legal responsibility of the seller, buyer and transporter, as placed on them by law.

9. Prohibited listings and conduct

• CITES Appendix I species are not permitted on the platform.
• Rhino horn and elephant ivory are not permitted regardless of domestic legality.
• Listings involving cruelty, improper captivity, or transport outside SANS standards are prohibited.
• Listings for species on our blocklist, or without required permits, will be declined.
• Circumventing the platform — soliciting off-platform payment for a platform-originated deal, or embedding contact details in listings to avoid fees — is prohibited.
• Fraudulent, misleading or AI-fabricated listing content is prohibited.

10. Seller responsibilities

Sellers warrant that they hold all required permits (TOPS, CITES, provincial, state-veterinary, abattoir, Animal Improvement Act, where applicable) for each listing or lot. Sellers indemnify Wildlife Marketplace against any regulatory or civil liability arising from non-compliance with wildlife, disease-control, consumer-protection, welfare or tax legislation.

11. FICA & AML

Wildlife Marketplace is an accountable institution under FICA Schedule 1 Item 20 (dealer in high-value goods). We perform customer due diligence, report cash/transaction threshold reports and suspicious transaction reports, and retain CDD records for 5 years. Enhanced due diligence applies to high-value transactions. By using the platform you consent to this processing.

12. Privacy

Our processing of your personal information — including identity verification data, transaction records and the automated listing screening described in section 4 — is governed by our Privacy Policy and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

13. Disputes

Disputes are first handled through the in-app dispute process: raising a dispute freezes the relevant escrow until our team resolves it (release to the seller, or cancellation and refund to the buyer). Unresolved consumer disputes may be escalated to the National Consumer Commission or, where relevant, the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud. These terms are governed by South African law.

14. Our role and liability

• We provide the marketplace, verification, escrow facilitation, screening and transport coordination described above. We are not the seller, breeder, outfitter or transporter, and we do not warrant any animal's health, genetics or fitness for purpose beyond the protections expressly described in these terms.
• Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded under the Consumer Protection Act, including our regulation 30(6) auction-delivery liability in section 5.
• To the maximum extent the law allows, our liability for anything else arising from your use of the platform is limited to the fees you paid us for the transaction concerned.

15. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or close accounts that breach these terms, fail verification, default on auction obligations, or create risk for other users — with notice where reasonably possible. You may close your account at any time; obligations from transactions already in progress survive closure, as do records we are required by law to retain.

16. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The current version and its date are always shown at the top of this page. Material changes will be notified to account holders and may require re-acceptance before further transacting.