- Animal welfare organisations have condemned the
killing of seven lions at the Karoo National Park on Tuesday. - The lions were shot from a helicopter after they
escaped from the park twice and killed 10 sheep. - Other plans could have been made, the organisations
say.
The killing of seven “damage-causing”
lions at the Karoo National Park outside Beaufort West in the Western Cape has
drawn hefty reactions from a number of wildlife organisations.
The lions were shot dead from a helicopter on
Tuesday after two escapes in a 24-hour period. They also killed 10
sheep on a neighbouring farm.
SANParks spokesperson Rey Thakhuli said the pride
was considered a “damage-causing group of animals” that was
concentrated in the high mountainous areas next to the northern boundary of the
park, causing a serious risk to human life and livestock, News24 reported on Wednesday.
But on Thursday, animal welfare organisations
reacted with shock at the killing of the pride.
READ | 7 lions shot after escaping from
reserve twice, killing 10 sheep
Fiona Miles, director of FOUR PAWS in South Africa,
said Tuesday was a “very tragic day for the wild lion population of South
Africa”.
“The existing damage-causing animal policy
guidelines state that problem animals are usually a man-induced problem and
management action should be focused on finding a non-lethal option where there
is no immediate life-threatening situations. By maintaining quality standards
and regular fence and perimeter checks, this could have been avoided.”
Miles said the onus was on parks to ensure proper
predator-proof fencing was erected to minimise conflict with neighbouring
communities.
Enormous impact on ecosystem
“More instances of this nature will occur if
there is not a commitment undertaken to fix the long-term issue with fencing.
Appropriate preventative steps should have been taken after the first escape of
the lion pride given the likely probability for a second attempt.
Miles said:
“With no human life in immediate threat, the
measures taken by slaying a tribe has been excessive and should never have
occurred in the first place. With proper management, this situation could and
should have been avoided at all cost,” Miles said.
Audrey Delsink, director of wildlife at Humane
Society International – Africa, told News24: “With fewer than 25 000 wild
lions left on the continent, Africa’s lions are in crisis.”
Death should be last resort
Delsink said:
“We trust that this was the case and, if so,
we are deeply disappointed that no other alternatives such as recapture and/or
relocation to another venue were feasible or possible. African lions need
support and non-lethal conflict mitigation strategies should prevail,”
Delsink said.
When approached for comment, SANParks’ Fayroush
Ludick said there were plans to host a webinar to address the issue. Once the
details are available, it will be added.
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Article source: https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/huge-uproar-from-wildlife-organisations-following-killing-of-7-problem-lions-in-karoo-20201001