Advocacy
Advocacy
An essential part of our work is to challenge shortfalls and inadequacies in the Government and Provincial Regulations currently used to make decisions on baboon management, and to advocate for the ethical treatment of baboons in South Africa.
We provide the oversight required to ensure that baboons are properly protected in terms of the law, and that the law is implemented effectively.
In South Africa, Cape Town has set the standard for baboon management with its baboon monitor programme, which aims to keep baboons out of residential areas and which has been implemented at enormous cost in various forms since 1998.
We are, however, strongly opposed to the current management protocol, which uses aggressive and lethal management tactics that focus purely on managing “problem animals” rather than addressing the underlying causes of conflict – poor waste and household management by residents living on the urban edge, and ever-shrinking home ranges due to urban and agricultural encroachment.
We believe the lethal “management” of raiding baboons, particularly males, is a short-term solution at best. It causes chaos in social structures, puts the animals under undue stress, and causes incidents of infanticide to spike. There is no evidence to suggest that this strategy reduces raiding by the rest of the troop in the long term.
We will continue to provide a voice for baboons, and to engage with experts, academics, residents and the authorities to ensure that lethal management becomes a thing of the past.
SO PAINTBALLS DON’T HURT BABOONS?
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO CONTINUE THIS WORK!
In a funding landscape where baboons are not considered a conservation priority, Baboon Matters relies purely on the support of the public to carry out its work. We urgently need financial assistance if we are to continue being a voice for baboons.
CONTACT NUMBERS
Jenni Trethowan
084 413 9482
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