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Baboon task team attempts to 'quietly' remove Simon's Town troop

Baboon task team attempts to 'quietly' remove Simon's Town troop
A social media poster created to draw attention to the plight of the Seaforth troop.
Liam Voorma
By Liam Voorma
14 Dec 2023
Facebook
21
A task team has planned the reported removal and relocation of the Seaforth baboon troop. However, the SPCA, various baboon management and community groups were caught by surprise. They said necessary steps to plan a removal have been overlooked and community groups were kept in the dark.

On 14 December 2023, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA was taken aback by an email from the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team (CPBMJTT) requesting assistance and observation in the capture and relocation of the Seaforth troop to what they said was a natural area on the Cape Peninsula.

Yet, the SPCA – the primary custodian for animal welfare in South Africa – said it has been excluded from the decision-making process within the CPBMJTT, which is a body formed under the directive of the Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) .

“We were not involved nor were we consulted,” said Jaco Pieterse, Chief Inspector of the Cape of Good Hope SPCA. 

This has led the SPCA to reject the request to assist and observe the capture and relocation of the Seaforth troop, which consists of 14 baboons. 

deep south baboon killed Seaforth troop’s alpha male Martello with his offspring Kabili, the troop’s youngest member. Alpha males are imperative to the troop’s social structure and family cohesion. (Photo: John Leslie)



Removal and relocation date
The initial removal was meant to commence on the morning of 14 December. However, the removal was postponed as the baboon troop dispersed higher up the mountain area when the trap cages arrived. 

“The relocation was set for this morning. We did dispatch inspectors to see what was going on, but were told that the relocation had been cancelled for today as the baboons went into the mountain,” said Pieterse. 

It is speculated that another attempt would be made the afternoon of 14 December, or the coming weekend, said Pieterse.

A lingering concern is where the troop will be relocated to, and what methods would be used by the task team. 

The Seaforth troop shot to prominence in September when a local resident opened fire on the troop, killing a juvenile.

Read more in Daily Maverick: A slaying in the Deep South: Inside the fallout from the killing of a baby baboon

Shortly after this incident local resident Ashleigh Olsen, with the assistance of a group of committed residents, raised money to place monitors with the troop to keep them safe.

On Thursday night Olsen accused the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team (CPBMJTT ) of a cover up demanding to know what the plan was with the troop.

"Where are you taking the Seaforth Troop? Two weeks before Christmas and this is what the “Mother City” is doing?"




She said the the CPBMJTT (Joint Task Team of the City of Cape Town, SANParks, Cape Nature) has failed to clean up waste in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, baboon-proof waste, put up signage and awareness for the public, provide baboon monitors or provide law enforcement to enforce by laws and park regulations




"They have left a group of concerned citizens to set up a community based monitor programme and given no support, ignored extensive appeals for implementation of waste management, awareness, law enforcement and excluded the Cape of Good Hope SPCA in their task force," said Olsen.


"And, today, two weeks before Christmas they sent in a team from NCC to capture the Seaforth Troop for 'relocation' and not informed the public or the monitor programme who has been watching over this troop.


"We want to see the relocation permits for this troop, we demand transparency and public participation in this process. They left us high and dry and now come in and try and capture this troop without any assurance of a safe relocation or the proposed destination and excluded the SPCA in the decision making process. UNESCO are you watching? We are, " said Olsen.


Baboon Matters' Jenni Trethowan explained what would be best practice should there be a need to relocate a troop: “Normally what would happen in a relocation of a baboon troop is they would erect a temporary electrified boma of sorts and you would put the troop into this safe contained space until they get used to being in a new place.” 

However, none of this has been discussed, or mentioned to the necessary organisations or community groups involved, said Trethowan. 

When contacted by Daily Maverick, the CPBMJTT stated that “the relocation of the troop is in the best interest of the safety and welfare of the baboon troop, who have been spending most if not all their time in the urban area of Simon’s Town”.

However, no answers were given about where the troop would be removed to, the capturing methods, or how the transportation process would work. The task team was also unable to provide a timeframe for the relocation or details on who the actual people are who constitute this task team.

A social media poster created to draw attention to the plight of the Seaforth troop.


Beachwards…


The CPBMJTT claimed that the troop had been at Boulders Beach which they said raised concern about the interaction between tourists and baboons as well as penguin eggs of the African penguin colony. 

“The baboons disturb and displace the penguins and are known to feed on the penguin eggs," the CPBMJTT claimed, although those who monitor the troop said the baboon had not engaged with any of the penguins or touched any of the eggs. Olsen pointed out that there had been no evidence of any baboons coming near any penguins or their eggs, but rather that many penguins were killed by a swarm of bees and in another incident by dogs.

"In fact our evidence through the monitoring programme shows very clearly that this troop spends most of their time in the mountain, outside of the urban areas." said Olsen.

The CPBMJTT said it would engage with the SPCA in an appropriate forum, but as of yet, no information on the new location of capture methods of the troop has been discussed.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Juvenile baboon fatally shot in ‘distressing’ Seaforth incident — SPCA launches urgent investigation 

“The Cape of Good Hope SPCA finds it unreasonable that we are expected to mobilise the day before a major capture and relocation of an entire troop when we have been systematically excluded from decision-making processes by the CPBMJTT. Such a major relocation is not planned overnight and requires a broader stakeholder consultation and input,” said Pieterse. DM 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REeWvTRUpMk

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