Elephants, Excuses, and Exclusion: NSPCA Fights Empty Promises on Madikwe Crisis

At a tense meeting of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on 18 September 2025, the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) laid bare the North West authorities’ refusal to incorporate essential animal welfare considerations into the management of the escalating elephant crises.

The NSPCA’s submissions came as officials from the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT) and the North West Parks & Tourism Board faced rigorous questioning from Committee Members for their inaction and for ignoring a direct instruction to include the NSPCA in the Provincial Elephant Task Team (PETT).

Despite a clear directive from the Portfolio Committee for the NSPCA’s inclusion, the PETT continues to operate without our formal participation. The authorities’ justification – that the NSPCA’s mandate is “animal welfare, not animal management” – is both illogical and dangerous. The welfare of over 1,600 elephants, in an area deemed suitable for far fewer, is the central crisis that demands management. To separate the two is a fundamental failure of ethical governance.

“While the authorities speak of strategies and alignment, their actions reveal a concerning disregard for both parliamentary instruction and animal welfare,” said Chief Inspector Douglas Wolhuter, Manager of the NSPCA’s Wildlife Protection Unit. “We are being presented with a fait accompli behind a veil of secrecy, denied access to meeting minutes, and our expertise is being dismissed when it is needed most.”

The NSPCA’s submission to the Committee highlighted critical failures:

• The NSPCA remains barred from the PETT, preventing essential animal welfare considerations from shaping management plans.
• The refusal to share PETT meeting minutes undermines any claim of an open, collaborative process.
• For years, offers of assistance to implement non-lethal population control, such as contraception, have been available but ignored by the authorities, allowing the crisis to escalate.
• Discussions around trophy hunting have begun prematurely, contravening the nationally accepted principle that culling is a last resort.

The NSPCA acknowledges the complex ecological and social challenges at Madikwe. However, a credible solution cannot be developed by ignoring the welfare of the animals at the heart of this crisis. The Committee members echoed this concern, citing “wilful disobedience” by the North West authorities and the urgent need for science-based intervention.

The NSPCA reiterates its call for immediate, formal inclusion in the PETT and the national elephant management process. The suffering of these elephants and the health of the ecosystem cannot be held hostage by procedural obstruction and inaction.