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2026-10-28 09:51:41 +02:00
Anya
No I do not
3. Extreme Spatial Compression: 292x Territory Reduction and Welfare Harm
This is cruel and an unacceptable treatment of wild animals. Humans are the ones encroaching on their habitat!
2026-10-28 08:46:20 +02:00
Tania
No I do not
All of the above
5. Deliberate Waste Mitigation Failure: Exclusion of Simon's Town Bins
2026-10-28 04:35:07 +02:00
Wendy
No I do not
All of the above
6. Failure to Formally Assess Funded Free-Ranging Coexistence Alternatives
I personally will not be voting for the DA. None of my family members will be voting DA. More transparency and conservation preservation is required before we can support them. I know many people who feel the same way now..
We don’t deserve to live in paradise will we condemn wildlife to suffering and extinction
2026-10-27 22:54:39 +02:00
Christelle
No I do not
All of the above
3. Extreme Spatial Compression: 292x Territory Reduction and Welfare Harm
- Restricting free-ranging primates to a compressed enclosure violates basic welfare norms under the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 and aligns with the Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s formal position rejecting long-term captive holding of healthy wild troops.
- Decision-makers are legally bound to evaluate viable, less restrictive alternatives. The authorities have failed to produce any documented, rational evaluation rejecting the southern coexistence proposal.
2026-10-27 22:17:27 +02:00
Cally
No I do not
6. Failure to Formally Assess Funded Free-Ranging Coexistence Alternatives

What Authorities and Proponents Say

    • Mitigating Severe Human-Wildlife Conflict:
      The Joint Task Team maintains that the Waterfall and Seaforth troops have become chronically urbanised in Simon’s Town, creating substantial human-wildlife conflict, property damage, and safety risks that previous management methods have failed to resolve.
    • Non-Lethal Management Solution:
      Authorities argue that permanent confinement in a purpose-built “semi-wild” Urban Wildlife Centre is preferable to euthanasia or leaving troops in urban environments where they face dog attacks, vehicle collisions, illegal pellet-gun shootings, and poisoning.
    • Protecting Regional Genetic Lines:
      Proponents state that purpose-built enclosures provide shelter, water, and veterinary care while preventing troops from raiding residential waste and human food attractants.
    • Established Strategy:
      The JTT asserts that baboon management has been continuously informed by extensive consultation, including the 2023 Strategic Management Plan public-participation process and review by an independent expert panel.

What Conservationists, Experts, and Opponents Say

    • Regulatory Prematurity & Missing Permits:
      CapeNature confirmed on 29 September 2026 that a completed captivity permit application has not been submitted and the operational management plan remains unfinalised. Capturing, transporting, and caging protected wildlife without completed statutory permits violates the Nature Conservation Ordinance 19 of 1974.
    • Severe Spatial Confinement:
      Spatial tracking by primatologist Dr David Gaynor shows the Waterfall troop’s natural territory spans 736.1 hectares. Caging them in a 2.52-hectare enclosure (with the JTT enclosure specified at 2.3 hectares) reduces their living range by ~292 times, which experts warn constitutes a monument to management failure and an unviable welfare outcome.
    • Procedural Unfairness under PAJA:
      The authorities substituted the announced November 2025 Plateau Road staged trial (which included a 6-month review and EIAs) with permanent confinement at Kogelfontein without conducting a specific notice-and-comment process under Section 4 of PAJA.
    • Refusal to Mitigate Waste Attractants: The City rolled out 2,200 baboon-proof bins across the Peninsula in September 2026 but intentionally excluded Simon’s Town on the grounds that the troops are earmarked for removal. Opponents argue the City is manufacturing a justification for removal by refusing to secure municipal waste.
    • Viable Coexistence Alternatives Ignored:
      A fully costed, funded alternative developed by WAPFSA and Dr Gaynor—incorporating strategic exclusion fencing, waste securement, and shepherding—has been bypassed without formal, transparent comparative assessment.
    • Animal Welfare Objections:
      The Cape of Good Hope SPCA formally stated in July 2026 that it opposes placing healthy, free-roaming, wild-caught baboons into long-term captive sanctuaries.
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