South Africa authorises elephant culling
- Posted on Tuesday 26 February 2008 - 11:02Fidelis Zvomuya, AfricaNews reporter in Pretoria, South Africa, photo: Lars PlougmannThe high growth of the elephant population in South Africa has resulted in the government permitting their culling for the first time since 1994 as a measure to control growth and halt environmental damage, environment minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has said.
Van Schalkwyk said his ministry is to publish a set of final norms and standards for elephant management in the Government Gazette this Friday which will see the import and export of captive elephants being prohibited and intensive breeding of elephants in captivity other than by natural birth, will be prevented.
Van Schalkwyk said the government reorganises the need to maintain culling as a management option, but is taking steps to ensure that this will only be the option of last resort.
The process will start on May 1 when parks authorities can start submitting their elephant management plans, including the option of culling, to the respective MECs in the case of provincial reserves and, in the case of national parks, to van Schalkwyk.
South Africa has more than 20 000 elephants and in 1995, when the country stopped culling it had about 8 000 elephants. The population growth of elephant is 6% to 7%, making it a hard reality.
The government estimates that the elephant population of the Kruger National Park is increasing 7% a year and might reach 20 000 by 2012 and 30 000 by 2019.
But as South Africa's internationally renowned flagship reserve, it will command the most attention.
The chief executive of South African National Parks, David Mabunda, has given the assurance that the process of considering the options for the 20 000kmē park's various regions will be thorough and transparent. In some cases culling might be an option.
"We now have the procedures and processes in place. Our teams will do the necessary assessment. There will be no bloodletting," Mabunda said.
Announcing the decision to adopt culling as a method, Van Schalkwyk gave the assurance at a media briefing that steps had been taken "to ensure that this will be the option of last resort that is acceptable only under strict conditions".
There was no intention of "wholesale slaughter". Culling would be permitted only in terms of a culling plan prepared by the reserve owner and management with the assistance of an ecologist who is a recognised elephant management specialist.
The plan would need to show that the existing or projected elephant numbers were "incompatible with the agreed land-use objectives spelt out in the management plan and that a reduction in population numbers was therefore necessary".
It would also need to show that all other population management options, such as reserve expansion, contraception and translocation, had been rejected by an ecologist.
South Africa culled a total of 14 562 elephants between 1967 and 1994. Without that cull, the population would have rocketed by now to 80 000, according to Mabunda. The killing stopped in 1995, partly because of local and international pressure.
The government has to act in the interest of "sustainable conservation". A single elephant devours up to 300kg of grass, leaves and twigs a day.
The minister said also the capture of elephants for commercial exhibition facilities such as elephant back safari industries or circuses will as of May 1 be prohibited. “These norms and standards would apply to all protected areas as well as to private land on which elephants were found,” he said.
Van Schalkwyk said there have been a number of complaints about alleged cruel and unethical practices during the training of elephants for safaris and circuses, such as the use of chains, ropes and electric prodders.
The ministry will develop within a year minimum standards for the management and care of the about 120 elephants already held in capacity.
“Compliance with these standards would be a precondition for the approval of captive elephant facilities in terms of the threatened or protected species regulations. The department of agriculture will craft a regulatory instrument under the Animals Protection Act and the Performance Animals Protection Act to govern the captive elephants,” he said.
Keywords: south_africa nature bushmeat
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