Animal welfare groups worried about baboons
ANIMAL welfare group Baboon Matters has raised the alarm over what they believe is unethical treatment of Cape Town’s managed baboon troops.
The organisation has called for the City to conduct a complete audit and revision of baboon management as well as the opportunity to contribute to a more balanced programme.
Baboon Matters founder Jenni Trethowan said: “When we raised concerns about the unnecessary and agonising death of Phoenix Baboon in January, who was burned in a fire in Da Gama Park and left to suffer for 10 days before she died, we were accused of using social media instead of the correct channels. Since then we have been asking for a meeting with various city officials… but these requests have been fruitless.”
Residents of Cape Town are funding the more than R10 million a year baboon monitor project, she said. However, only two baboons have received treatment and been released, 13 baboons died and 19 were put down as a result of injury or illness in five years.
However, maoral committee member for transport and urban development Brett Herron said that during this period, the current service provider has treated at least 29 cases of sick or injured baboons that did not result in euthanasia.
“Eight of these were kept at Westlake for a few days and successfully released. The remaining 21 plus were treated and recovered well,” he said.
Baboon Matters has also voiced concerns about the aggressive use of paintballs by HWS monitors. “Our trustee… came across six monitors herding the Da Gama troop away from one of their natural sleep sites – he described it as… machine-gun style shooting at the troop which included mothers with babies. The baboons were nowhere near the urban edge,” Trethowan said.
“Six Southern managed troops ( Da Gama, Waterfall, Slangkop, Misty Cliffs, Groot Oliphantsbos, and Smitswinkel) have grown by only 10 animals since 2012,” she said.
“It is the Southern troops that are most worrying for us – they are the troops that are coming into the most conflict with humans and are being the most aggressively managed,” Trethowan said.
Herron said decisions around baboon management across the peninsula are not made by the city but by the Baboon Technical Team comprising representatives from the city, SANParks, the South African Navy and CapeNature.
“The city does not have the constitutional mandate to manage wildlife and cannot interfere in the management of baboons as this is managed through joint decision-making through the technical team. We accept and appreciate that Baboon Matters does not agree with some of the decisions of the Baboon Task Team. These decisions, based on the best available science, are reached collectively,” Herron said.
Julia Wood of the technical team and the city’s biodiversity manager did not respond to requests for comment.