* This story has been edited to correct an error made by Baboon Matters. The organisation apologises for any offence caused.
Cape Town – Conservationist Baboon Matters have called for an immediate ban on the killing of baboons in pine plantations in Mpumalanga.
It has been revealed that more than 4 000 baboons have been killed since 2008.
Says Baboon Matters founder, Jenni Trethowan: “Contractors employed by forestry companies are using brutal methods to eliminate entire troops in the absence of any evidence that killing them actually reduces the level of damage to trees, and without census data. How is this legal?
“Forestry South Africa, the industry association to which more than 90% of forestry companies in the country belong, is well aware of these practices but claims to work within the principals of the Forestry Stewardship Council, which includes maintaining and restoring the eco-system and its biodiversity. “
Trethowan has slammed the practise as "unethical".
The conservationist group believes that killing the primates should be a last resort and only done after sufficient research has been carried out to determine why the primates are damaging trees by stripping bark from two specific varieties of pine.
A research project conducted by international primatologists found that culling baboons did not result in the decreased damage to pine trees.
Recommendations for alternative, non-lethal management of baboons in pine plantations were ignored, and the report was kept under wraps.
"Ten years after this research was presented to the industry, none of the recommendations have been implemented, and the rate of elimination of baboons has only increased."
When Baboon Matters visited the pine plantations, it made a gruesome discovery.
From bullet holes found on skeletons, it is clear that the baboons were not killed cleanly or humanely, and many would have suffered terribly before dying.
Baboon Matters has requested a meeting with Minister for the Environment, Edna Molewa, to motivate for a complete ban on the killing of baboons in pine plantations until relevant research and an accurate census have been carried out.