Dear Executive Mayor Hill-Lewis,

Animal Survival International (ASI) is a charity registered in South Africa and the United States, that works to help animals in numerous countries around the world.  Our work in South Africa ranges from drought relief to wild animal welfare issues. Everything we do is evidence based and backed by the most up to date scientific information.

We write to you today to formally request your reconsideration of the City of Cape Town’s proposed intervention involving the relocation, and confinement of free-ranging chacma baboon troops on the Cape Peninsula.

ASI approaches this matter primarily from an animal welfare perspective. The proposed intervention of CPBJMTT entails the permanent confinement of wild baboons within a restricted area, coupled with the vasectomy of male individuals to suppress reproduction. These measures raise serious welfare and behavioural concerns. Confinement of free-ranging primates represents a profound alteration of their natural social and spatial dynamics, while widespread male sterilisation is likely to disrupt troop structure, hierarchy, and long-term stability.

Further, the development of visitor infrastructure and public access within an enclosed environment aligns more closely with the characteristics of a zoological facility than with accepted sanctuary principles. Baboons, as highly intelligent, socially complex wild animals, are not suited to such settings. We note this concern particularly in light of your previous leadership role within the animal welfare sector.

We are additionally troubled by the indication that euthanasia may be pursued should the enclosure project not proceed. Framing lethal control as the alternative to a contested intervention raises serious ethical questions and risks presenting irreversible harm as a negotiating instrument rather than a genuine last resort.

ASI does not dispute that sanctuaries may, in limited and clearly defined circumstances, play a role in animal welfare. However, this proposal involves wild animals, public land interfaces, and long-term population consequences. As such, it warrants rigorous scientific scrutiny, transparent evaluation of alternatives, and meaningful public engagement. 

So far, this is not what we have experienced, there has been miscommunication, hostility and no renewed attempt to consider the deep and pervasive implications of this proposal, which may set precedents for wildlife management in urban-wildland interfaces. 

We urge you to review the full range of management options recognised within the Cape Peninsula Baboon Strategic Management Framework. These include coexistence-based measures such as targeted fencing, waste management, spatial planning, and behavioural mitigation. Such approaches deserve thorough, transparent evaluation alongside any intervention presented as a measure of last resort.

We respectfully urge your office to pause and reconsider this course of action, and to ensure that any decision affecting the future of Cape Town’s wild baboons reflects the highest standards of animal welfare, democratic process, and evidence-based governance.

Yours sincerely,

Animal Survival International