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01 August 2007

Porcupine Incident at Tokai Plantation

Cape Town, Wednesday, 1 August 2007 – Five contract staff members of MTO Forestry, who were working at the Tokai plantation, clubbed a porcupine to death on Wednesday, 11 July 2007.

SANParks, which manages the ecotourism and transferred land of the Tokai plantation area, conducted an initial investigation into the matter, has established the following:

  • An SPCA staff member phoned the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) Silvermine Gate, asking if he/she can release a porcupine into the Park.
  • The gate access control officer, working for Omnigate, which is contracted to SANParks, advised them to release the porcupine at the Tokai plantation. Omnigate is contracted to manage gate control and therefore had no mandate to make a call on this matter.
  • The SPCA staff drove through the Tokai Plantation gates and without the knowledge of the manager, drove up a forestry track and then released the porcupine

Instead of the porcupine running in the direction SPCA staff predicted, it ran in the opposite direction and to a group of contract workers hired by MTO Forestry to do forestry work. These workers then killed the porcupine. MTO Forestry (ex SAFCOL) is the company that manages the plantations of trees in the Tokai Cecelia plantations until the trees are felled and the compartment transferred over to SANParks for protection and management.

SANParks is awaiting advice from MTO Forestry about the disciplinary action to be taken against the workers involved.

With regards to catch and release of wild animals from urban areas, SANParks feels that it is crucial to create awareness about these wild animals and how to manage them within the urban context, so they are not seen as an undesirable to be removed. This requires awareness or education of residents regarding fencing property and protection of gardens so that the Park is not pressured into taking animals that have been caught in urban areas such as properties next to greenbelts.

These “problem” animals are often territorial (e.g.: porcupines and snakes) and may displace those already living in the Park, sometimes even fighting to the death over territory. Another concern is the spread of diseases and/or parasites that could be spread into the park.

SANParks would like to point out that they allow for release under circumstances that reduce these risks.

This incident, and the increasing pressures of animal relocation Table Mountain National Park is experiencing, highlight the need to reinforce and formalize interaction with various groups dealing with wildlife, such as SPCA and City Conservation to ensure that clear procedures are set and aligned to those applied to baboons and penguins in the Peninsula area.

For further information, please contact:
Phumeza Mgxashe
Communications Manager
Table Mountain National Park
Tel: 021 701 8692
Cell: 083 589 8588
E-mail:[email protected]