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  PlanetSave 18 Jan 06
South African environment minister holds more talks about elephant culling
 Written by Clare Nullis

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) _ Ten elephant experts met Wednesday with South Africa's environment minister to discuss proposals to end a 10-year ban on culling the mighty mammals, which a top tourist attraction but are threatening the delicate balance of nature.

Environment Minister Marthinius van Schalkwyk convened the meeting as part of wide-ranging consultations which have so far failed to find common ground on the sensitive issue.

The scientists were asked for advice in the following areas: if there are too many elephants; whether they are harming biodiversity; the need for action to reduce populations; and which management options should be used, an Environment Ministry statement said.

"The minister has said that his final decision would be based on the available science, ethical and social considerations, indigenous knowledge, environmental and tourism impacts,'' ministry spokesman J.P. Louw said.

"It is therefore important for him to get a good understanding of the available science and identify knowledge gaps that need attention,'' he said in a statement issued before the meeting, which grouped experts from universities and research institutes in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

But Louw conceded that "there appears to be little consensus among leading scientists.''

A meeting of environmental groups in November also ended in differences between groups like the World Wide Fund for Nature, which argued that overall biodiversity should take priority and animal welfare groups outraged at the prospect of resumed slaughter.

The South African National Parks recommended last year that culling should be considered as one of the possibilities to control the 7 percent annual increase in elephants in the flagship Kruger National Park.

Without action, park officials warn that the elephant population will triple to 34,000 by 2020, posing a threat to other animals and vegetation in the reserve. South Africa culled a total of 14,562 elephants between 1967 and 1994. Without that cull, the population would have rocketed by now to 80,000, according to parks chief executive, David Mabunda.

The killing stopped in 1995, partly because of local and international pressure. Van Schalkwyk has said that "no action'' option is no longer realistic and that the government must act in the interest of "sustainable conservation.'' A single elephant devours up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of grass, leaves and twigs a day.

The environment ministry is considering other possibilities. But it says that relocating the elephants is not the sole answer because adjacent parks and game reserves are also full. Contraception poses practical problems and is expensive, given the number of elephants involved.

The ministry said that it expected further scientific consultations, given that a number of specialists based in the United States, Britain and Australia were unable to attend Wednesday's session. It expects to issue a draft policy document for public comment later in the year.

South Africa is consulting neighboring African countries also affected by increasing elephant populations, but there is no regional consensus at the moment about how to manage the herds.

South Africa, Namibia and Botswana all have booming elephant populations, while East African nations such as Kenya struggle to increase their herds, which were decimated by poaching in the 1980s.

Trade in ivory has been banned since 1989 to try to combat poaching. South Africa has repeatedly appealed to the U.N. body monitoring endangered species to lift the ban on trade in ivory to allow the proceeds to be invested in parks.
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