Cape Town - Residents have been rattled after a beloved male chacma baboon named Lips, frequently seen around Old Constantia Village, was euthanised.
The Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team, which consists of representatives from SANParks, CapeNature, and the City of Cape Town, announced the euthanasia was carried out after careful consideration and discussion by the team.
“The CPBMJTT (Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team) uses this opportunity to inform residents that a male baboon (CON18 - Lips) has been euthanised following deliberation by the CPBMJTT.
“This intervention is in line with the approved and adopted set of baboon management guidelines,” they said in a statement.
The decision has sparked outrage and concern among animal rights advocates, such as Baboons of the South, a dedicated organisation focused on the welfare of baboons.
The group’s Lorraine Holloway has taken a stand by issuing an open letter to the task team, highlighting the need for urgent action regarding the management of baboon populations in urban areas.
“I’m questioning whether the guidelines to kill baboons are being followed to the letter.
“That all the parties that should be involved are involved; that their data and information in recording is quite correct; and that everything is in place,” she said.
Holloway also questioned whether the Baboon Advisory Group community members were consulted, and why it took public pressure for the decision to be communicated.
Lips and an alpha male baboon from the CT2 troop known as Quinton,
were reported missing last week.
Unfortunately, Quinton has yet to be seen.
“My intent is to question and make sure that the joint task team is doing their job the way they should be doing it,” Holloway said.
“These questions have not been answered, the public should put pressure on the joint task team each and every time a baboon is either killed or gone missing.”
The task team said it accepts that not all residents or stakeholders will be in support of their decisions, but they remain confident their decisions are robust, rational and based on the best available information and scientific advice.
The task team follows the baboon management guidelines (BTTG03) and will put them into action whenever necessary.
Holloway has now urged them to reconsider their approach towards the management of baboon populations, advocating for comprehensive strategies that emphasise conservation and humane treatment.
“These guidelines are kegged and barbaric, and they need to be reviewed.
“The JTT promised that they’d be reviewed in December 2023, but nothing has happened,” she said.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za
Cape Argus