Province under fire for wanting to cash in on culling

Critics say North West parks board aims to enrich itself by killing elephants in Madikwe.

- By Don Pinnock

advanced stages of malnutrition. Up to 1,000 might have to be culled.

TThe NSPCA has criticised the North West Parks and Tourism Board for repackaging Madikwe elephants as an income stream, and the DA's Andrew de Blocq, a member of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, says recent tender bids for hunts in provincial reserves are suspicious.

He accused the parks board of "blatant disregard" for Parliament's explicit directives, adding: "This is not an administrative oversight, but a deliberate act of defiance against the authority of the committee and Parliament itself."

De Blocq described the board's refusal to use nonlethal methods such as contraception at Madikwe as inexplicable, and says the inclusion of the NSPCA in planning is "not a matter of convenience, but a legal and moral necessity".

He questioned why the board was so resistant to independent oversight, noting its promotion of culling and trophy hunting as primary solutions and raising concerns that vested hunting interests might be taking precedence over humane, science-based management.

He said it was concerning that the North West MEC for economic development, environment, conservation and tourism, Bitsa Lenkopane, appeared in her official capacity at the Dallas Safari Club Convention. Also of concern were subsequent tender bids for hunts in provincial reserves.

The DA has asked the portfolio committee chairperson to urgently intervene, potentially by summoning the parks board before Parliament again to account for its disregard of the committee's directives to ensure humane, accountable management and prevent similar disasters in other reserves.

Elephants suffering