A recent protest about the presence of baboons in the Cape Peninsula village of Kommetjie culminated in a member of the local Slangkop troop being pepper sprayed and injured. Residents say a lack of baboon management strategies is causing increased human-baboon conflict in the area.

Listen to this article 12 min Listen to this article 12 min Residents of Kommetjie, a village on the Cape Peninsula in Cape Town's deep south, say that the failure of local authorities to provide adequate resources for baboon management is a key factor behind recent escalations in human-baboon conflict in the area.

This comes after a protest about the presence of baboons in the town on Sunday culminated in an attack on a member of the local troop. The gathering, which was reportedly intended as a peaceful protest organised by the Kommetjie Baboon Action Group (KBAG), took place outside a burned-out building in which the troop had begun sleeping at night.

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA confirmed that one baboon was "severely impacted" by pepper spray during the protest, and suffered visual impairment and further injury on an electrified fence while disoriented and attempting to escape. Some residents, wielding sticks, reportedly went for the baboons.

advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads"The situation escalated when animal activists, attempting to protect the baboons, clashed with the residents... SPCA inspectors were called to the scene and promptly intervened, rescuing the injured baboon and transporting it to our wildlife...