The recent report on elephant management in South Africa has sent alarm bells ringing throughout the conservation and animal welfare circles and headlines are screaming that culling is about to be re-introduced (you can read about it here and here). This is a highly emotive issue and I studied the norms and standards report for elephant management before making any judgment. Indeed, the report goes far beyond culling and the headlines I have seen have been rather misleading.
Let me explain my position. By 1990, long-term research in Kenya and elsewhere had revealed that elephants have highly organized societies and have a surprisingly well developed ability to communicate. We consider them sentient creatures like whales and apes that deserve special consideration when it comes to their management. I was part of the community of concerned professionals who objected to the culling of elephants in southern Africa in and before the 1990’s because at that time, the body of knowledge about elephants was ignored and culling appeared to be largely commercially motivated (for ivory and trade in baby elephants), was not managed in a scientific manner and was unacceptably inhumane. Unable to ignore the global concerns for the ethical and inhumane treatment of elephants, the South African government then banned the culling of elephants in the 1994.
Elephants live in close knit families and maintain close ties with others in their bond groups
Matriarchs are the leader and reservoirs of elephant community knowledge and are key to keeping the herd safe
The statement made by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South African minister of Environmental Affairs & Tourism, on the publication of the final norms & standards for elephant management on 25th February 2008, reveals that South Africa has come a long way since their positions in the 1980’s. The country has clearly looked seriously at the issues raised by experts from around the world by consulting widely within and beyond South Africa, and has prepared a carefully considered position on the management of elephants that aims to serve the interests of elephants as a species, their welfare, their impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, and their effects on the people both locally and nationally.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the guiding principles behind this piece of legislation begins with acknowledgement that “elephants are intelligent, have strong family bonds and operate within highly socialised groups and unnecessary disruption of these groups by human intervention should be minimized”.
The welfare of elephants is further emphasized in the statement that “management interventions must, wherever practicable, be based on scientific knowledge or management experience regarding elephant populations and must take into account the social structure of elephants; be based on measures to avoid stress and disturbance to elephants, and; where lethal measures are necessary to manage an elephant or group of elephants or to manage the size of elephant populations, these should be undertaken with caution and after all other alternatives have been considered”
While I will never ‘like’ the idea of elephant culling, I do accept that given the impacts of human induced climate change, and habitat destruction, elephants in and outside of protected areas will become an increasingly serious problem unless some key populations are reduced and maintained at appropriate levels. A part of the problem is caused by increasing demand for resources by humans and I believe that we have are responsibility to check our own impacts in order to reduce conflicts between elephants and humans by controlling human activities as well.
Reducing elephant populations may therefore, be a necessary part of population management, and this will be done in a humane and considered manner. South Africa intends to reserve culling as a last resort after all other options such as translocations, fertility control have been exhausted. Though I find elephant culling repugnant, I can see the sense in it in some scenarios, as I imagine many others do also.
If culling is deemed necessary, then I would personally like to see the management authority ensure that entire families or bond groups are removed intact to eliminate or minimize the emotional trauma to remaining individuals, and secondly, to maintain smaller populations using the tested and approved fertility control. It means that the authorities have much work to do in terms of studying the family and bond groups and maintaining good records. If done well, removing or culling entire bond groups would reduce cases of rogue elephants and could eliminate or reduce the frequency of further culling in the future.
Like human babies, elephant calves are protected fiercely and influence social behavior
Finally, it is with great relief that I note that the Minister has prohibited any further capture of wild elephants for captivity. He acknowledges the unacceptably cruel practices that are common in captive elephant care and training in South Africa where baby elephants are beaten and tortured to ‘break their will’ in order to train them for tourism, circuses and even zoos. I look forward to seeing new legislation that completely eliminates cruelty in the captive care and training of these highly intelligent and feeling animals.
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25 Comments
It’s very very sad of course, sad too to have to revise one’s own long-held beliefs, but surely, inevitably, it’s time for a considered rethink on this issue, heretical though it may seem? The realities of overpopulation, theirs and ours, have to be managed one way or another.
I’ve read a few viewpoints on this issue in the last 24 hours and I just cannot agree with the deliberate killing of elephants because of overpopulation by humans. Could not some families of elephants be moved to Kenya, where you’re struggling to maintain populations? Isn’t the real root of this wildlife management issue more a management of human populations? Why are humans not urged to stop making more humans?
s.
To see them NOT captured and their spirit broken/beaten and whipped to be trained and to see many left in the wild I would forgive humane and scientific culling if that is the only way for man and elephant to survive in South Africa – we all put a lot of faith in your years of work, research and experience. Thank you.
No, no, no…we can split an atom, put man on the moon and bring him back safely. Man found vaccines for small pox and polio. Please, don’t ask me to make a ” Sophie’s Choice”! All these achievements came from big time funding, to find solutions, and they did. Let us work on birth control, for both humans and the elephants. It is far better to prevent a new life, then to take a life.
The culling of elephants, by any government, is unacceptable today. There are many areas in Africa where the population of elephants has been wiped out by poaching, and entire families of elephants can be relocated there with a proper management. All others alternatives must be studied before even think in such an insane and barbaric alternative as culling. I have seen many videos of elephants being slaughtered by some african goverments in the past, entire groups and families being circled by shooters, how these animals run in circles, the panic of the elephants “can be cut with a knife in the air”, they see its mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, sons feel to the ground under a rain of bullets. In such situations they never died with only one shoot, every one of them must receive some shoots before die, they fell one by one, one over one, some try to run but there is no scape. They are full concious of what is happening, they see and feel the terrible agony and pain of its family, all the panic, all the chaos, all the fear, all the incredible pain…at last end when the last of them is terminated with a shoot in the brain and fell to a ground full of blood. And all this for what? only because a government don´t want to take a non lethal alternative to solve a problem that has being created by man, but as always, the animals must pay for it with its lives. The elephants´cull in the past could be acceptable many years ago when there are no room for them in certain areas and the overpopulation is destroying the environment that is needed for other species in order of survive, But now there is a plenty of space for elephants in Africa, and the translocation of them, with help of the South African government and private conservation institutions, could be implemented. If the cull is authorized, it will be for some obscure reasons, and not for a real need to do so, because now there are alternatives. My institution, the American Council for Wildlife Preservation, The PIBI Biological Research Foundation and my friend Ken Mwathe head of Birdlife Kenya and the Lake Natron Consultative Group are working with the Kenya Wildlife Service to protect a herd of elephants in the Garissa district in Kenya. This herd is affecting crops of native people. I have the information that this herd is still in the area, fortunately, safe. I have being informed by the Kenya Wildlife Service that they are following this issue and that any lethal action will be used against them because of the interest and concearn that local and international conservation groups have on them. Ken and me, Frank Pechir, are very proud of the work we are doing to help these animals in kenya, I know that it is only a very small part of what is needed in the conservation field in Africa, but is an example of the good results that can be obtained when a government has a good will to protect its wildlife. All the world is watching what South Africa has to say about this problem, and a cull will be like the return of all the bad, insane, cruel and primitive that man can be. The are no room for such “cull” actions in a world that is fighting day by day and country by country to preserve wildlife, there are men that is dying to protect endangered wildlife (the congo rangers are an example), there are many millions of dollars expended every year and many thousands of hours of very hard work to protect wildlife in Africa alone. Elephants deserve all but a cull, they must be respected and protected and a cull, today, must be out of any possible future for this endangered and iconic species. I hope that this insanity never reach the elephants.
I´m just contacting A.W.F, Africa. This institution strongly believes that combining parks, private lands and community areas into large conservation and tourism landscapes is the best way to manage elephant populations instead of a cull. Specifically in South Africa, A.W.F. has pursued a strategy of supporting full implementation of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which would allow elephants and other wildlife to spread out into parts of Mozambique and Zimbabwe adjoining South Africa.
African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)
You are completely right Pechir. Thank you for the important info on this magnificent and highly intelligent living being.
Pechir, your knowledge is astounding and thanks so much for explaining!
Dear Lucia and Wanda, thanks…I only hope that the slaughter never occurs.
F.J. Evironmental Defense, Defenders of Wildlife, and NRDC are all now going to court to do battle and save our wolves.
Thank you F.J. for your position again culling. I stand with you as well as with Sheryl, Theresa and the rest!
Dear Dr. Leakey,
Thank you for this very important issue the world needs to take note of immediately so we can take action to try to prevent such a horrendous act! Seems southern African countries are behind the curve when it comes to human encroachment on elephant habitat as the main problem, not the other way around. There are solutions that work to solve this issue and does not include culling. Tourists to southern Africa would be horrified to learn about this, maybe influence government agencies to stop the madness. We’ve seen nature documentaries showing the result of culling and the awful emotional impact it has on surviving elephants, much like it would affect a human. We cannot allow this to happen. Millions in income from the tourist industry and other resources should be allocated to resolving this issue and ending culling once and for all. I am shocked ivory is still sold legally with no regard for where it actually came from and the suffering it caused. I am hoping there are educational programs in place in such markets in the hopes younger generations will find such practices as awful as we do. This time in history is critical for caring humans to save so many animals from extinction. Healthy elephant populations in all African countries should be at the top of the list!
Judy in CA
Thanks to all! Theresa, yes, defenders of Wildlife need our donations to go to court since last week!
Thank you all for your comments and concerns. I appreciate all your views. These are difficult decisions for any country and we all hope that South Africa does not find the need to actually cull. I think that they are being realistic by keeping the option open after a thoughtful discussion.
Dr. Leakey, it is truly an honor for us to have a seat at your table. Thank you and please, take care. The world needs you and so do all the precious wildlife we care so deeply about. God bless, Theresa
Dr. Leakey, the Sumatran Tiger’s future is terribly bleak, can a blog be set up at WLD to help?
When I think of South Africa, I think of the fantastic wildlife! That is the reason that I would travel there.
Killing (culling) the elephants shows a lack of creativity to me.
With all the negative things going on in Africa, AIDS, mutilations, war, famine, why not try to show something kind? The world community will look much more kindly on South Africa if they try!! If they cull the herds, in my opinion, the animal welfare community will be outraged. I will.
I can’t understand why it is preferable to completely eliminate a bloodline in a species that is still threatened. The elephant population is so many less than a century ago. Why remove genetic diversity? How will this make the overall elephant population healthier? This is so incredibly sad and makes no sense to me.
i am gonna show this to my friend, guy
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Thank you very much
Nikki Tanzer from Virginia, USA
HI Nikki, please send an email to info at wildlifedirect dot org
Bloomberg features SA culling issue:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=acAeaMBWi9nY&refer=muse
No I think, culling of African Eliphents are not welcome. It is henious crime against poor lovely animals. Why is culling necessary? It is most stupid to think such bad idea.The animals must be protected at any cost. Those are thinking to culling, let them start culling their children first, human population is main factor to grabe the wild land and culling to reduce the size and and population of animals. It is their land and green, not for humen use. Why some dirty people are thinking such bad idea. Let them reduce and kill their won children and wife first.
Dr Leakey and all the precious people working tirelessly for conservation: Thank you!
I must agree with Frank Pechir and Judy. There can be no justification for the culling of elephants.
I realise that this is a complicated issue but perhaps one that could have been avoided had the South African government not waited until the elephant numbers became a problem.
Why? Why wait for years and suddenly decide that culling is the only solution? Surely this did not happen overnight?
And what will become of the tusks? The time has come to close ALL loopholes regarding ivory. Perhaps allowing the over-population of elephants becoming a problem will be dealt with earlier if there are NO legal ways to trade ivory.
I cannot help being just a little bit cynical. So, if someone could please tell me, should the culling happen, what will be done with the ivory?
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