Paintball guns were the weapons of choice for eight Scarborough residents who were among a group of 35 individuals that battled two troops of baboons in and around the sleepy coastal Cape village on Easter Monday. They fought for hours, but the baboons had the last laugh by returning later in the evening.

The paintball permits to curb baboon infiltration in the area had been issued under permit from CapeNature.

Monday’s battle followed last year’s unannounced decision by the nature conservation authority to approve the use of paintball guns as part of baboon management tactics on the Peninsula.

The Scarborough operation created online anger, and the authorities faced the expected livid criticism from animal lovers and conservationists.

However, the controversial use of paintball guns is backed by the NSPCA, and strongly approved by some residents of urban areas targeted by marauding baboon troops.

CapeNature explained their decision to issue the permits was made by all the authorities concerned: itself, the City of Cape Town, and SANParks, otherwise known here as the Baboon Conservation Authorities.

The permits, valid for six months, were issued on an experimental basis, with the results to be assessed further down the line.

CapeNature was quick to remind the public that the use of paintball guns without a permit was still illegal, explaining to the Cape Argus:

If there is any indication that this method of control is abused by individuals who are not part of the formal management intervention, the use of this method will be terminated with immediate effect.

A total of 12 permits had been issued after people had undergone special training and obtained a certificate in proficiency and safety from the Sport Paintballers’ Association.

The authorities had also issued permits for two members of the City’s baboon management service provider to use paintball guns against the troop that raids in Constantia.

Dr Graham Noble, an executive member of the Scarborough Residents’ Association, and the main organiser of Monday’s battle, said that they’d had mixed success:

We succeeded in the sense of getting the main troop [of about 14 animals] entirely out of the village. But for the first two-and-a-half hours the baboons made absolute idiots of us – we were running around like headless chickens. But then we got better organised and discovered the method to use, so we’re very pleased.

Some baboons had moved back into the village and were on a resident’s roof by 20h00, “But we knew that would happen,” confessed Noble.

He went on to say that it was about protecting people’s property from the baboons, and that they were equally motivated by wanting to protect the baboons from harm:

The [City-contracted] monitors have for months been absolutely powerless to get the baboons out once they’re in the village, and we wanted to find, and show, a method to get them out and keep them out. We’re powerless to protect the baboons once they get into an urban area. They are shot at, have accidents and are subjected to all sorts of dreadful things – I’m sure you’ve seen some of the pictures. This is the only way we can think of to ultimately protect them, and also to protect personal property.

The idea behind Monday’s battle was to drive the baboons south, and into the Cape Point Nature Reserve.

They were shooting mainly to get the baboons off roofs, so there had to be sure shots fired from quite close by, in the [animal’s] back, and they complied pretty well with that.

Baboon conservationist, Jenni Trethowan, whose Baboon Matters Trust firmly opposes the use of paintball guns and other “aggressive” control methods, said reports had led her to believe it appeared that the Scarborough battle had mixed success: “Not much success for the humans, but an interesting day for the baboons.”

She found it hard to understand the reasoning behind CapeNature’s decision to approve the operation, asking:

Since when did laws and by-laws get changed overnight to accommodate an ill-thought-out hunt?

She also slammed the fact that the NSPCA did not monitor the operation, saying, “[That’s] unacceptable.”

NSPCA’s wildlife unit head, Brenda Santon, said they’d been asked by the conservation authorities to review their baboon management protocol:

Unless there’s a proper management plan, the conflict will continue and the cruelty will continue. I want to make it very clear: the NSPCA does not endorse the brutal and uncontrolled use of paintball guns where they’re used solely to cause pain and suffering. But if they are managed by properly trained and compassionate people, they could serve as a tool.

Noble sent out an e-mail yesterday, in which he explained what happens next:

We need to get better organised, improve communication… as well as work out how to keep the baboons out more effectively once they are out, and we are ready to go again. The tentative date for the next drive is Saturday, May 5. All welcome.

The battle between man and baboon is set to continue.

[Source: IOL]