BREATHING SPACE: Court clips wings of weapons-based baboon control

The baboons of Betty’s Bay have won some breathing space.Under a Western Cape high court interim order, the Overstrand Municipality has agreed not to introduce paintball markers, pepper balls, bear bangers and a range of other aversive devices while it reviews its Strategic Baboon Management Plan.The baboon issue has led to tempers flaring and street protests in the Overberg region. (Photo: KVET) The order, made by agreement between the municipality and the EMS Foundation on 27 July, doesn’t settle the legal dispute or declare any baboon-management method lawful or unlawful. Nor does it end active management of the Betty’s Bay troop.Gel blasters, which are already being used, will remain part of the system for now, but the order prevents the municipality from routinely extending to Betty’s Bay the wider weapons-based approach used elsewhere in the Overstrand while the review takes place.Qualified successFor the EMS Foundation, which brought the high court application, that makes the interim arrangement a significant, if qualified, success.“We are confident that the active management of the Betty’s Bay troop will now be carefully regulated,” said EMS senior researcher Megan Carr. “The court process has also created an opportunity for the municipality to reconsider its strategy and develop an approach that is specific to the Overstrand, scientifically grounded and non-lethal.”Paintball guns and bangers can send baboons scattering into gardens rather than moving them out of town. (Photo: KVET) EMS is a South African social justice organisation known for challenging the commercial exploitation of wildlife. Its work has included investigations into the live-wildlife trade, supporting the relocation and rehabilitation of captive elephants and defending legal provisions concerning animal well-being.More recently, it became involved in the observation of baboon management in Hermanus, Pringle Bay and Betty’s Bay, where shrinking habitat, poorly secured waste and expanding residential areas have brought people and baboons into increasingly tense contact.Last year, Carr said, EMS helped bring an end to the use of restrictive tracking collars on baboons in Hermanus. Its present court action followed unsuccessful attempts to obtain assurances from CapeNature and the Overstrand Municipality over the proposed expansion of weapons-based management in Betty’s Bay.The foundation had been raising concerns with the authorities since December 2022. According to an EMS release, baboon management decisions implemented in Pringle Bay are “highly contentious” because they lack the backing of localised, site-specific scientific research. “Implementing restrictive protocols without baseline studies specific to the local troop raises serious questions regarding the efficacy and scientific validity of the current strategy.”A baboon watcher with a weapon at the ready. (Photo: KVET) Its attorneys sent a formal letter of demand on 4 June 2026 after municipal officials confirmed that procurement was under way to extend the full suite of management devices to Betty’s Bay from July. Five days later, the municipal Manager published a notice stating that the Overstrand Municipality had begun reviewing its strategic baboon management plan and that the draft would be published after an independent panel of wildlife and conservation experts had reviewed it by August 2026 for public participation. It published a three-year tender for baboon-management equipment.Weapon restrictionsUnder the interim order, the municipality may not routinely use paintball markers, pepper balls, pepper spray, bear bangers, strobe lights, water cannons, artificial lighting, drones or night operations in Betty’s Bay.An otherwise restricted device may be used only when reasonably necessary to prevent an imminent or actual threat to people, property, pets or baboons.CapeNature, which issues the relevant permits, and the NSPCA were also cited in the litigation. Neither opposed the interim relief, instead giving notice that they would abide by the court’s decision.The substantive case has not disappeared. Part B of the proceedings, which deals with the broader legal challenge, has been postponed while the municipality reviews and publishes an amended strategic baboon management plan. It has not been withdrawn and the question of legal costs remains open.Any party may also ask the court to vary or discharge the interim order if it can show good cause.Arrangement acceptable for nowCarr said EMS accepted the arrangement because it immediately prevented the routine introduction of a much wider range of aversive devices in Bettys Bay. That should not, however, be taken as EMS support for gel blasters or for the existing management system.“We remain deeply concerned about the effects of aversive management on baboon welfare, troop behaviour and relations between people and wildlife,” she said.A mother and juvenile baboon consider their options. (Photo: KVET) According to a statement after the case, EMS said the municipal review now needed to examine more than the list of devices available to field teams. It should consider whether existing methods worked, how repeated harassment affected troop structure and movement and whether management might inadvertently drive baboons further into residential areas.Residents in Pringle Bay have reported that paintball markers and explosive bear bangers can scatter troops, sending animals into gardens and houses in search of cover. EMS acknowledges that these disputed questions of cause and effect have not been decided by the court. It argues that this is precisely why independent scientific scrutiny is needed.Carr said baboons should not be treated simply as nuisances once they crossed an invisible boundary into a town.“They’re intelligent, sentient animals and they play an important ecological role through activities such as seed dispersal and nutrient cycling,” she said. “The real question is not whether baboons should be managed, but whether public authorities are doing it lawfully, humanely, transparently and on the best available evidence.”Plan neededA workable coexistence programme, EMS argues, would combine trained local field teams with early-warning systems, baboon-proof waste management, community education, reliable incident records and practical help for residents to secure homes and food sources. It would also protect natural movement corridors and take account of troop behaviour, historic ranging areas and the availability of natural food.Residents and visitors had a role too, said the EMS statement. Feeding baboons, leaving food accessible or failing to secure household waste could draw animals into urban areas and intensify conflict.Betty’s Bay baboons have been reprieved from weapons-based control for now. (Photo: KVET) The municipal review will include public participation, although no final outcome has been determined. EMS says it will take part constructively and assess the amended plan once it is published, while reserving its rights in the continuing court case.The order is therefore a pause rather than a final victory. But it’s a consequential pause: one that limits the municipality’s options, keeps the larger legal challenge alive and places the future of Overstrand baboon management under renewed public and scientific scrutiny.Carr says it is a chance to move the debate away from a bitter choice between baboons and people.“Humane management can protect residents, property and wildlife at the same time,” she said. “This review gives the Overstrand an opportunity to replace confrontation with a modern, evidence-led approach and become an example of how communities can live alongside wild animals.” DM