TAHRS (MOUNTAIN GOATS) ON TABLE MOUNTAIN ARE IN IMMINENT DANGER OF BEING KILLED: PLEASE HELP!

February 23, 2001

Dear Friends

The dum-dum bullet was invented by the British Army at a place called Dum-Dum in India. It is a soft-nosed bullet which is cut in the form of a +. When a target is hit, the bullet expands and causes massive tissue damage and trauma. This bullet has been outlawed internationally for years, yet in South Africa it is sold for "hunting" at arms dealers stores. Please read the following plea for the lives of a few Himalayan Tahrs who now have only two days of life left to them.

Thank you kindly

Roger Gould-King

TAHRS (MOUNTAIN GOATS) ON TABLE MOUNTAIN ARE IN IMMINENT DANGER OF BEING KILLED: PLEASE HELP!

You may have been contacted by others in this campaign which is now at a very critical stage, to try to save the remaining few himalayan tahrs from being shot with dum-dum bullets and eradicated as a species from Table Mountain [our internationally renowned tourist site]. Tahr as a species have lived on the mountain for nearly 70 years. There was one failed attempt to eradicate them before but this time South African National Parks are determined to succeed. SANPARKS find this the most "humane" way of "removing" an 'alien' herd, which they allege - despite its now tiny numbers (40 or less animals)- is causing irreversible damage and erosion to the indigenous flora etc. This is a smokescreen. Never has the word 'scapegoat' had such true meaning.

We have proposed humane alternatives to them including contraception darting of the females, using USHS approved PZP vaccine, and the sterilisation after netgun capture of males (New Zealanders who know how to do this specialised skill have indicated their willingness to be involved). This way the herd's fertility would be controlled and they would die out over 10 years (their lifespan) - not ethically ideal, but preferable to dum dums. Any long term animal management is out of the question with SANPARKS as regards "aliens" as they have an anti alien mania.The tahr is on the IUCN's Red List [listed as Vulnerable] but this does not matter to SANPARKS eiither. They regard these animals as 'vermin' , an infestation.

Relocation with the netgun capture technique would be possible for the animals they manage to catch, but we have been unable to find safe havens for the tahrs. They are identical to their himalayan ancestors - who were brought here by Cecil John Rhodes at the turn of the century and who have lived on this mountain since the 1930s - except for the nasal passages which have fused. There is no reason why they could not be integrated with other tahr. SANPARKS will not agree to relocate within SA as these animals again are not indigenous. (If you know of any potential sanctuaries, please let us have their details immediately.)

I have been running a campaign to try to save the few that they haven't yet killed. There has been a moratorium on the killing since last August, but by then 57 were dead. No or very few live births occurred in the herd last year as they chose to kill while the animals were pregnant or had just given birth, so any newborn calves would have died (6 months is the weaning period).

SANPARKS have just announced that they plan to kill them all as soon as possible and that none of our alternatives,despite being endorsed by internationally renowned experts, are practical. Basically the issue is threefold - firstly they want them gone now for ideological extremist reasons - an 'ethnic cleansing' is taking place (no environmental impact assessments have been done or were deemed necessary, and they rely on data from 1975 when 800 tahr roamed the mountain, which in itself is scientifically dubious) so do not want to wait 10 years; secondly they have never ever practised humane animal management, even on indigenous animals, but always resort to killing as the option of first choice when there is a perceived problem, and thirdly, to "give in" and do something humane they think would cause them serious loss of face and set a 'dangerous' precedent of public involvement in their policy implementation and decisions.

They are now planning to go up very soon - maybe next week - early in the morning with shotguns and dum dum bullets to kill them off. In the past they used Scoline darted from helicopters - this drug is a surgical muscle relaxant which paralyses all the muscles but leaves the victim fully conscious, which meant that terrified tahrs were chased and darted and then took 90 seconds to fall over by which time they were not necessarily dead, asphyxiating to death while fully conscious over several minutes as their muscles used to breathe were also paralysed. This SANPARKS now accept as an "error" on their part.

We have a website www.raptor.co.za/tahrs which has a more full version of this story on the Updates subpage.There is also a page for feedback. But we are struggling for publicity, both locally and internationally. The situation here is now totally critical. I appeal to you to please help in any way that you can. International criticism (potential tourists - our economy is dependent on tourism) is worth far more than local. Please could you help to publicise this fast?

I have a fax no for the CEO of SANPARKS, who is Mr Muvuso Msimang, which is intl code + 27 12 343 9959 and our Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism is Mr Valli Moosa fax ++27 21 465 3216. Unfortunately the Ministry probably can't control what SANPARKS do as they are so powerful but it is worth faxing him. I am afraid that because of issues like these, they have no email that we know of that accepts incoming mail, so all correspondence has to be by fax.

Please would you try to help, although it is probably a lost cause.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely

Jeanne Wadee [Friends of the Tahr].

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