People and the Planet MUST come before Profit

In light of the recent killing of a baboon by Overstrand Municipal contractor Humane Welfare Solutions (HWS), the DA has once again positioned itself as a party that kills innocents, at the behest of the rich.

The DA is not unfamiliar with animal rights activists advocating for the protection of the Chacma Baboon population in the Western Cape. In 2020, after the DA federal congress, entire pages were dedicated to the Baboon issue complete with notes acknowledging outdated practices still in place in Western Cape municipalities, and resolutions to implement best practices, as recommended by international wildlife organisations. Furthermore, the DA arrogantly boasts that it is the first party to formally recognise animals as sentient beings capable of feeling the same pain and emotions as humans.

Fast forward to September 2021, a known Baboon by the name of Scarface (BBM1 - officially) was cold-heartedly killed, after Overstrand Mayor, Mr Dudley Coetzee, agreed on record, to relocate Scarface. HWS, contracted to manage Baboons in the area, seemingly ignored the executive power Western Cape mayors have been given by DA legislation and executed Scarface. To date, HWS refuses to comment, saying only it does as the Overstrand Municipality bids.

So, what happened?

The mayor gave a "capture and execute" order after entitled, rich residents threatened legal action as a result of property damage due to Baboon raids. Baboon raids are common in the area. Communities have managed Baboon raids with practical methods, "Baboon proof" windows, and waste bins. This has proven to work in terms of "coexistence with wildlife", a concept borne by indigenous peoples and adopted by conservationists. Upon realizing that this order to kill had been given, animal rights activists' outrage drove known conservationists to contact the Overstrand Mayor, to order a "stay of execution" and relocate him to a wildlife sanctuary that volunteered to take him. Mayor Dudley Coetzee granted the order to "stay execution" but HWS went ahead and killed Scarface anyway.

LAND Party condemns Mayor Coetzee, his party, his contractor, and his administration that cares nothing for the environment it destroys at the request of the rich. LAND Party calls for the spending of millions of taxpayer's money on outdated and cruel mitigation programs that failed to address the "Baboon issue" in the area to be stopped. LAND Party calls for these failed projects to be reviewed and that all involved in the decision-making for these projects be named and held accountable. LAND Party calls for total transparency of contracts obtained in this regard, not only to expose the Apartheid mentality of "life is cheap" in a DA government but also to expose the rich, corrupt eco-fascists who fund this mentality. The DA has wasted millions of its revenue on pretending to "manage baboons", but refuses to implement baboon-proof strategies as proposed by animal rights activists.

LAND recognizes that living in or close to protected nature reserves is a privilege, not a power trip. LAND leadership recognizes and has supported environmental resistance to DA-promoted projects that entailed detrimental consequences to local and regional biospheres. LAND calls for the cancelation of the contract currently held by HWS, on grounds of the unauthorized killing of wildlife and animal abuse.

With regards to the Cachma Baboon population and protection, LAND will promote management of the people rather than wildlife since animals can't be corrupted by greed. Instead of killing our wildlife, let's ‘eat the rich’ by exposing their duplicitous and selfish approach to life. People and the environment have to be put before profit.

Pic: Pete Oxford