Birth Control Tests for Kruger Park Elephants. (17 October 1996)

International and local experts plan to test a birth control drug on Kruger National Park elephants as a possible alternative to culling. A statement in Pretoria said the venture had kicked off successfully with the recent administration of the contraceptive to 21 adult female elephants. The project marked the first time the medication had been used on wild elephants, although it has been controlling white-tailed deer and wild horse populations in the United States.

The drug, which prevents sperm from attaching to eggs, is not known to influence elephant behaviour. The project is a joint venture by scientists from Zoo Montana, the Ohio Medical College, the University of Georgia and the University of Pretoria. It is sponsored by Humane Society International (HSI) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

National Parks Board Chief Executive Dr Robbie Robinson said contraception was a viable alternative to culling, especially in cases where family herds were relocated to areas where their numbers had to be contained. 'This research is in total agreement with our undertaking to explore all alternatives to killing and to find a better way of maintaining our elephant population,' he said.

The Parks Board announced some months ago that no elephants would be killed in Kruger National Park this year. The statement said rangers had culled about 600 elephants annually in recent years in an attempt to maintain a population of 7 500 elephants. The Kruger Park's African population was cut in half in the ten years ending 1989 due to poaching for ivory. An international ban on ivory sales later that year prevented extinction.

'Since then populations have begun to recover,' the statement said. 'But elephants continue to face a threat common to many wildlife populations - habitat destruction.' The HSUS and HSI commended the South African Government for what they called the country's humane and progressive new policies towards its elephants. 'South Africa has shown the world that people once divided can live together in harmony. They can also be an example of a nation that peacefully co-exists with wildlife populations. Sapa. Courtesy of the Pretoria News.