Cape Town Plans Permanent Confinement for 60 Baboons

Cape Town officials plan to permanently confine about 60 chacma baboons from two troops near Simon’s Town at an urban wildlife center, presenting the move as an alternative to culling after repeated conflicts with residents and the animals’ growing dependence on human food. Officials say keeping the troops in their current urban environment has produced poor welfare and ecological outcomes, while relocating them to another wild area would be environmentally unsound. Conservationists and some residents oppose the plan, arguing that baboons are wild animals that need to roam freely and that urban expansion and unsecured food sources—not the animals themselves—are driving the conflict. Protesters have called for coexistence and urged residents to better protect their homes, while some officials and advocates warn that unmanaged encounters pose risks to both people and baboons.