Help Baboon Matters help Baboons!

Towards the end of 2024, the local authorities and City of Cape Town were adamant that they would no longer fund the Urban Baboon Program, whereby rangers are employed to keep baboons out of urban areas on the Cape peninsula.  

At the end of 2024, our Court case was resolved when we obtained a court order in which all relevant authorities (Cape Nature, CoCT and SANparks – known as the JTT) admitted responsibility for the management of baboons and undertook to implement the mitigation strategies outlined in our application and rangers were reemployed under a new service provider.

Although we felt we had won that battle, the next battle was very quickly upon us; the Draft Baboon Strategic Management plan had been adopted and in that plan the JTT had announced their intention to remove troops of baboons.  There was no mention or discussion about NOT removing the baboons, only HOW they would be removed – the options included culling entire troops, relocating the troops or moving them to a sanctuary which would have to be established and then they announcement came that it was 4 troops of baboons - 121 animals to be removed.

Baboon Matters and our colleagues at Beauty Without Cruelty SA, Baboon Watch WC, Baboons of The South, Baboon Management WC and Green Group Simons Town launched a successful campaign “No to Killing – Yes to Solutions” and led an extremely well attended protest, submitted our memorandum to the JTT and encouraged hundreds of baboon advocates to make their voices heard in the public participation process by sending their written concerns to the JTT.

The final Action Plan for the management of baboons has, in the past week, been released to the public and we can see that implementation of the mitigation strategies will be provided for over the next two years, including  provision for better waste management a specific new By-Law and enforcement thereof.  

It appears that the option of culling entire troops in no longer being considered but that a sanctuary option is a possibility and if permits are issued the Seaforth troop will be moved in February 2027.  The idea of moving the free roaming troops into a sanctuary has been a hard one to consider, however, after meeting with the Cape baboon Partnership (CBP) I can see why the sanctuary initiative is  the only viable option for these troops, who are on a knife edge with culling as the only alternative.

I believe that the intention is to create a “world class” sanctuary that will take into account aspects of the baboons health and wellbeing and that should the troop settle down well and the sanctuary show signs of being sustainable, then more land would be made available.  We have requested the final, full proposal for the sanctuary but at this stage feel hopeful that it may provide a safe, secure alternative for these baboons.

On a wider picture, Baboon Matters has continued to provide help for injured or ill baboons and are pleased to note our successes in returning two juveniles back to their natal troop and ensuring that infants and juveniles reached safe rehabilitation centers or troops by working closely with colleagues. Sadly we have also had to ensure that critically ill baboons were humanely euthanased and we were relieved that in those case the baboons did not suffer prolonged suffering before they died.

We have supported community based initiatives to ensure that proactive management strategies are in place to minimize baboon human conflicts and have participated in a wide variety of meetings and are actively participating on the national Wildlife Well Being Forum – Task Team for Primates.

We continue to engage with the general public, providing education and information and our Facebook page has enjoyed high levels of success reaching just under one million viewers this year.  We have recently started making podcasts and hope you will take time to listen in as we debate the future of the Cape peninsula baboons.

Podcast link From Facebook:

Episode 1 - Should baboons be killed as a management tool? Assoc. Prof. Elisa Galgut, Ryno Engelbrecht (Baboon Management WC), and Jenni Trethowan (Baboon Matters) unpack the ethics and implications of proposals to cull or remove entire troops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAPJCb0UuXE

Episode 2 – Do the Guidelines Really Protect Baboons?

How effective are current management guidelines? Lorraine Holloway (Baboons of the South) and Ryno Engelbrecht and Jenni Trethowan examine the real impacts of removals on baboons, questioning whether the guidelines are applied judiciously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzYB8JWgJy0

Join the conversation. Share your thoughts. Because Baboons Matter: Their future is in our hands.

Baboon Matters could not do the important and varied work we do without your continued support and we are so grateful to you for your financial contributions that enable us to keel helping baboons.

Thank you for all of your contributions in 2025 and we look forward to a successful 2026!