The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West will lay a complaint with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) against the Madikwe Game Reserve for keeping a herd of buffalo captive in a boma since May 2016.
This was revealed by North West Parks Board officials during a Committee meeting earlier this week. During this meeting, the Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT) confirmed that these animals have been earmarked for relocation as per the controversial South African Rare Game Breeder Holdings (SARGBH) game donation deal emanating from 2015.
Confining a herd of large animals to a boma is cruel and abusive and those responsible should be held accountable.
It is further shocking to find that, despite the Committee’s decision to reverse this deal in 2018, none of the animals, which include sable and nyala, have been returned to the respective parks they have been removed from.
In light of the termination of this deal, the DA is concerned about the Department’s questionable decision to relocate the buffalo to the SARGBH farms where they will be tested for Bovine Tuberculosis.
We will submit written questions to the MEC of DEDECT, Kenetswe Mosenogi, requesting a detailed report on persons responsible for this cruelty, the reasons why the animals have been kept in a boma for all this time, the costs incurred in these four years and also the mortality rate over this period of time.