World-famous Kenyan conservationist Richard Leakey has given his cautious support to the resumption of elephant culling in South Africa, declaring it "necessary" and based on "animal welfare concerns".

In a recent article for the BBC's Green Room - a website devoted to environmental opinion articles - Leakey, the former head of the Kenyan Wildlife Service, termed elephant culling "a necessary part of population management".

In February, South Africa lifted a 13-year moratorium on the culling of elephants when Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk presented the Final Norms and Standards for Elephant Management in SA.

Due to come into effect on May 1, the regulations deem that culling as a management option will be a "last resort" if measures including expanding the space for mushrooming elephant populations, protecting migration corridors, translocation and contraception, fail.

If ultimately carried out, the plan declares that culling will only happen under strict conditions.

The plan is a response to the swelling of elephant numbers over the past decade, soaring from 8 000 to around 18 000 - 14 000 in the Kruger National Park alone.

In his article in late March, Leakey wrote: "While I will never 'like' the idea of elephant culling, I do accept that given the impacts of human induced climate change and habitat destruction, elephants inside and outside of protected areas will become an increasingly serious problem unless key populations are reduced and maintained at appropriate levels.

"Reducing elephant populations may therefore be a necessary part of population management and this will be done in a humane and considered manner.

Transfrontier parks could control metapopulations as in Kruger Park
"Though I find elephant culling repugnant, I can see the sense in it (in certain scenarios)," he said.

The elephant management plan had sent "alarm bells ringing" across conservation and animal welfare circles.

"Headlines have been screaming that culling is about to be reintroduced.

"This is a highly emotive issue and I've studied the government's report before making any judgment.

"Indeed, the report goes far beyond culling and the headlines I've seen have been rather misleading," Leakey suggested.

South Africa's new plan had a focus on animal welfare, said Leakey.

The plan showed him the "nation has come a long way".

"The country has clearly looked seriously at the issues raised by experts around the world by consulting widely within and beyond SA and has prepared a carefully considered position on the management of elephants that aims to serve the interests of elephants as a species, their welfare, their impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, and their effects on the people, both locally and nationally."

But Jason-Bell Leask, the country's director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which opposes culling, said he was concerned Leakey was giving his "in principle backing to culling".

"Perhaps he (Leakey) is not aware of the many advancements made in the (elephant management) field in the last couple of years.

"There have been great advances in the fields of research and fertility control, which has showed clearly that immuno-contraception (a vaccine that causes temporary sterility without affecting an elephant cow's hormones) is an extremely useful tool in small isolated populations. That's the majority of populations in SA."

Transfrontier parks could control metapopulations as in Kruger Park, for which spaces needed to be opened up, Leask said.

Also, culling as an intervention did not work in the past, he said.

Sourc: IOL