Concerned activists decry baboon removal plan

BABOON rights activists have expressed outrage and shock at the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team's Strategic Management Plan, which proposes the removal of five splinter troops, claiming hundreds of animals could be affected.

- GENEVIEVE SERRA

The task team last week presented the proposed action plan for the Cape Peninsula baboon, which includes the proposed removal of five splinter troops - CT1, CT2, Waterfall, Seaforth and Da Gama4, due to limited natural resources, human conflict, and poor welfare.

The plan will be reviewed by experts and the Cape Peninsula Baboon Advisory Group by mid-June.

Removal options include translocation, sanctuaries, humane euthanasia, or a combination.

The process and outcomes will be made public.

The Cape Peninsula Civil Conservation group said the plans would affect population numbers.

"To remove, most likely by killing, a quarter of the Cape Peninsula's managed baboon population is deeply shocking. If I may, it must be said," Cape Peninsula Civil Conservation (CPCC) chairperson, Lynda Silk said.