Latest news with #NWPTB
Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Madikwe crisis — NSPCA and DA accuse North West Parks of trying to raise revenue on elephant misery
A slow-burning tragedy is unfolding at Madikwe Game Reserve in North West and the grind of counter-accusations has the look of a fight between enraged rhinos. Meanwhile, elephants are being lined up to be shot. The NSPCA has criticised North West Parks and Tourism Board (NWPTB) for repackaging Madikwe elephants as an income stream and parliamentary environment portfolio committee member Andrew de Blocq says recent tender bids for hunts in provincial reserves are cause for suspicion. He accused the NWPTB of 'blatant disregard' for Parliament's explicit directives, adding: 'This is not an administrative oversight, but a deliberate act of defiance against the authority of the committee and Parliament itself.' He described the board's refusal to use non-lethal methods such as contraception at Madikwe as inexplicable, and the inclusion of the NSPCA in planning as 'not a matter of convenience; it is a legal and moral necessity'. De Blocq questioned why the board was so resistant to independent oversight, noting its promotion of culling and trophy hunting as primary solutions and raising concerns that vested hunting interests might be taking precedence over humane, science-based management. He pointed to the appearance of economic development, environment, conservation and tourism MEC Bitsa Lenkopane's appearance in her official capacity at the Dallas Safari Club Convention and subsequent tender bids for hunts in provincial reserves as concerning. The DA has asked the portfolio committee chair to urgently intervene, potentially by summoning the NWPTB before Parliament again to account for their disregard of the parliamentary committee directives, to ensure humane, accountable management and to prevent similar disasters in other reserves. Here's the backstory: The first warning flag went up in December 2024 when, following a complaint, the NSPCA's Wildlife Protection Unit conducted an inspection of the park and was horrified by what it saw. It said that while Madikwe was 'flaunting themselves as the fifth-largest game reserve in South Africa and 'one of the best conservation areas in Africa', the scores of elephants and other wildlife experiencing long, suffering deaths tell another story'. Inspectors came across an elephant calf so weakened that it was unable to move away from humans and was euthanised. On a second visit two additional elephants in dire condition had to be put down. A flight over the reserve revealed more dead animals, including a giraffe. In June 2025, Our Burning Planet reported on a scathing parliamentary session in which members of the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment accused North West officials of gross mismanagement and evasion of responsibility for the ongoing elephant crisis in the Madikwe Game Reserve. The committee was told that Madikwe had more than 1,600 elephants – more than triple the reserve's original carrying capacity of 500, and more than six times the 250-elephant maximum suggested by early management plans. At least 70 elephants had by then died of starvation, with many more in advanced stages of malnutrition. Up to 1,000 might have to be culled. NWPTB acting CEO Jonathan Denga confirmed that the province had known about the issue for years but offered no justification for the failure to act. 'Yes, the elephant population is a serious problem,' he said. 'But many of the management options have been exhausted. We are trying to bring balance.' Conservation writer Adam Cruise slammed North West Parks for claiming the need to cull, noting that it regularly sells hunting packages in its provincial nature reserves and had issued a tender for hunting in Madikwe as well. He pointed out that in January this year, a delegation from North West, led by Lenkopane, attended the annual Dallas Safari Club Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Lenkopane took part in discussions with counterparts from Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia 'addressing shared challenges such as the management of burgeoning elephant populations in the region'. Was North West Parks using its own mismanagement and the drought to call in foreign hunters to add to the province's piggy bank? A few weeks later, North West Parks shot back. An article by Denga and chairperson Khorommbi Matibe said the elephant density in Madikwe of 2.7 per square kilometre could arguably be the densest in southern Africa. 'A closed, fenced-in reserve with a current indeterminate growth rate of a habitat modifier like an elephant, that has no predators, with access to permanent water and food, will lead to overpopulation.' In this situation there were only two options: contraception or culling. 'Lethal reduction can take the form of hunting and culling, whose revenues can be easily ploughed back into the reserve.' The NSPCA responded to Denga and Matibe, saying it condemned the framing and normalisation of lethal reduction as both a viable strategy and economic opportunity, warning that culling or hunting intelligent, social animals like elephants should never be repackaged as a source of income. It argued that the overpopulation was a man-made crisis, the result of years of poor planning, no contraception programmes and a lack of long-term foresight. Alternatives to lethal control, such as immunocontraception and translocation, remained not only possible but preferable, the NSPCA said, adding that photographic tourism and community benefit could coexist without killing. It accused the NWPTB and the provincial environment department of deliberately excluding it from decision-making despite a parliamentary portfolio committee instruction to include the NSPCA in the provincial task team and share all relevant documentation. The organisation warned that such exclusion might necessitate legal action and called for independent ecological assessments, transparent management plans and welfare audits before any irreversible action was taken. The NSPCA noted 'lethal reduction, whether in the form of culling or so-called trophy hunting, cannot be repackaged as an income stream to plug holes in long-neglected management systems. The commodification of wildlife under the guise of 'sustainable utilisation' erodes not only the ethical foundation of conservation, but also South Africa's international reputation as a country committed to humane and responsible environmental stewardship.' The impact of elephants was the central theme of a national indaba at the Bonamanzi Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal on 12 and 13 August and Madikwe was a key debating issue though no conclusions were arrived at. Probably stung by the escalating controversy surrounding North West Parks' management of Madikwe and also Pilanesberg Nature Reserve, it has planned a public consultation session on 26 August to 'construct a framework of the dynamics of elephant populations' in the two reserves and define the role of elephants. This would provide 'the opportunity for new and fresh views'. The escalating crisis at Madikwe has become a litmus test for how South Africa balances ecological management, animal welfare and political accountability. With the NSPCA condemning lethal control as a shortcut born of mismanagement and the DA demanding urgent parliamentary intervention over the NWPTB's defiance of oversight directives, pressure is mounting on provincial authorities to abandon opaque, profit-driven agendas in favour of transparent, humane and science-based solutions. Whether that shift happens will determine not only the fate of Madikwe's elephants but also the credibility of conservation governance across the country. DM
Daily Maverick
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
North West officials evade responsibility for Madikwe elephant crisis, say MPs
More than 1,000 starving elephants may have to be culled. Parliamentarians demand answers by tomorrow (Friday). In a scathing parliamentary session on Tuesday, 10 June members of the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment accused North West officials of gross mismanagement and evasion of responsibility for the ongoing elephant crisis in the Madikwe Game Reserve. The crisis, years in the making, has led to mass starvation and death among elephants, extensive environmental degradation and a controversial proposal to cull as many as 1,200 of them. The most damning testimony came from Douglas Wolhurter, manager of the Wildlife Protection Unit at the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), whose presentation laid bare a catalogue of failings by the North West Parks and Tourism Board (NWPTB) and the provincial Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism. 'This is not a sudden crisis,' Wolhurter told the committee. 'It is the result of decades of inaction. The elephant population did not explode overnight – these animals breed slowly. Every warning sign was ignored.' According to the NSPCA, Madikwe Game Reserve now holds more than 1,600 elephants – more than triple the reserve's original carrying capacity of 500, and more than six times the 250-elephant maximum suggested by early management plans. The consequence has been catastrophic: at least 70 elephants have died of starvation since August 2024, with many more in advanced stages of malnutrition. The NSPCA documented suffering animals and dead elephants whose tusks had not been removed or logged in accordance with the law – a breach of the Animals Protection Act and TOPS (Threatened or Protected Species) regulations. Wolhurter's presentation triggered a sharp reaction from members of the committee. 'This is probably one of the most shocking presentations I've seen,' said DA MP Andrew de Blocq. 'It's absolute neglect. What concrete actions have been taken to hold the board and management accountable for what they themselves admit is severe mismanagement?' Questions by a number of parliamentarians cut to the heart of the crisis: why were long-term preventative measures like immunocontraception denied by NWPTB even though they were offered repeatedly for free by the Humane World for Animals – in 1998, 2020 and 2023? Why were the NSPCA, despite their legal mandate under the Animals Protection Act, excluded from the second and subsequent meetings of the provincial task team overseeing the crisis response? Why has no independent investigation been launched? The North West response was weak at best. Jonathan Denga, acting CEO of the NWPTB, confirmed that the province had known about the issue for years but offered no justification for the failure to act. 'Yes, the elephant population is a serious problem,' Denga said. 'But many of the management options have been exhausted. We are trying to bring balance.' Pressed by a number of MPs, Denga and NWPTB chairperson Khorommbi Matibe admitted that the NSPCA had not been invited to the task team as promised and gave no timeline for actual action. 'Unfortunately, we were not privy to the NSPCA's presentation beforehand,' said Matibe. 'We need time to study it before responding in detail.' That response drew a sharp rebuke from committee chairperson Nqabisa Gantsho, who issued a stern directive: 'You have three days to respond. We expect answers by Friday, June 13.' Wolhurter had previously noted that even though a draft culling plan was shared with the NSPCA in December 2024, the organisation had received no formal updates or invitations to task team meetings since then. 'We were told we'd be included as key stakeholders,' he said, 'but that never happened.' Meanwhile, public scrutiny is intensifying. A tender issued in May by the NWPTB proposes the trophy hunting of 25 elephants, two black rhinos and 10 buffalo in Madikwe – a move widely condemned by conservationists and tourism operators, who say it risks damaging the reserve's reputation and undermining non-lethal wildlife management strategies. The North West Parks tender to buy hunting and culling 'packages' for Madikwe game reduction. Although sold as a 'game reduction' strategy, critics argue that the tender was rushed, non-transparent and economically motivated. 'This is a reputational nightmare,' one lodge operator said anonymously. 'Tourism partners were not even consulted before this tender was issued.' Scientific assessments presented by the NWPTB and echoed by Wolhurter confirm that the elephant density in Madikwe – at 2.7 animals per square kilometre – is likely to be the highest of any enclosed reserve in South Africa. In contrast, the average for state-run reserves is just 0.79 elephants per square kilometre. While all sides agree that the current population is unsustainable, the divergence lies in how to respond. The NSPCA has called for immediate inclusion in the task team, independent oversight of any culling process and long-term ecological restoration – beginning with invasive species removal and veld recovery. But even the basics are missing. 'We're still waiting for a detailed ecological restoration plan,' De Blocq pointed out. 'There is nothing measurable in place to rehabilitate the veld or ensure that the reserve can sustain its intended population.' In closing, Gantsho didn't mince her words: 'This is a matter of urgency. We have seen suffering animals. We have seen death. We have seen degradation. The time for delays is over.' This week will reveal whether North West can rise to the occasion – or continue evading accountability. DM
