Explore South Africa

South Africa may restart culling elephants, setting the scene for an international battle over the future of the animals. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the minister of environmental affairs in South Africa, suggested that the 11-year suspension on culling could come to an end. He said: “We have about 20,000 elephants in South Africa, more or less 14,000 in the Kruger National Park. In 1995, when we stopped culling, we had about 8,000 elephants.”
“South Africa is faced with a particular challenge as most of our protected areas are fenced and surrounded by land that has been transformed, to a greater or lesser extent, by human development,” Mr van Schalkwyk went on to say.

The government was considering several management strategies in addition to culling, including contraception and the transfer of elephants to other areas.

“South Africa is faced with a particular challenge as most of our protected areas are fenced and surrounded by land that has been transformed, to a greater or lesser extent, by human development,” he said.

The South Africa government has opened a public discussion on proposals to resume an elephant cull; opponents refer to the “murder” of elephants, while supporters warn of a “holocaust” among other species if elephants go unrestrained.

However the real troubles could come when TV channels broadcast rangers in helicopters herding elephants into groups, tranquilizing them and then killing them off with a shot to the head.
The reason for the increase of African elephants in South Africa is because of conservation projects, anti poaching campaigns and stricter measures on ivory-smuggling.

The number of elephants in the Kruger National Park is nearly double the 7,000 that was considered the best number during the apartheid years, when regular culls of the species took place.

Culling of elephants stopped in 1994 but numbers have since sky rocketed and the elephants are starting to threaten the survival of other animals, plant species – due to their huge appetites as well as the well being of the species itself.

Elephants are capable of flattening areas of woodland into grassland in an amazingly short time, amongst these trees are baobab’s which may have survived for thousands of years, destroying nesting areas of rare birds such as the ground hornbill.

South Africa National Parks, who run most of the large parks in South Africa, has recommended a return to culling to save the country’s flora and fauna before it is too late. The government insists it has not yet made its mind up, and is considering all options.

Many other debates are going on, to put across the points of contraception and transportation of elephants to different areas, rather than culling. However the contraception theory would not show an immediate effect as elephants can live for over 40 years.

This problem is not solely in South Africa; Botswana and Zimbabwe are also having to consider the cull of their elephants.