Animal relocation is no game for reserves
FOURWAYS - Watching a little duiker nibbling a blade of grass or seeing a herd of blesbok tending to their young may soon be a thing of the past at nature reserves in Fourways.
According to Jenny Moodley, spokesperson for Joburg City Parks, all game may soon be moved out of Norscot Koppies and Kingfisher Nature Reserve as well as Rietfontein Nature Reserve and Lonehill Koppies Nature Reserve.
Moodley explained that Joburg City Parks and Zoo have developed an Ecological Management Plan that is guided by the Protected Areas Act and various legislated requirements that are regulated by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD). “The Act makes reference that conservation areas that have free roaming animals must have the necessary permits,” she said.
Moodley said City Parks became aware that Norscot Koppies was not complying with the required regulations. “Over a dozen blesbok have since been relocated with just under six in the reserve currently,” Moodley said. “The capture and relocation of the remaining animals will be undertaken shortly.”
She added that all City Park’s reserves need to comply with the regulations. “Lonehill Koppies is home to dassies which have over exceeded the carrying capacity of the species in the reserve and a process is underway to manage this situation,” she said. “And the same for Rietfontain Nature Reserve which must comply with carry-capacity requirements and secure the relevant permits to be considered as a nature reserve with animals.”
While the nature reserves apply for the necessary permits, City Park’s has applied to have animals accommodated at the Klipriver and Kloofendal Nature Reserves in the south and west of the city.
Yet the removal of game has come as a shock to some reserves. A representative of Friends of Rietfontein, a volunteer organisation which looks after the Rietfontein Nature Reserve, said they did not know they needed any permits and had been under the impression that Rietfontein Nature Reserve was waiting for its formal classification of being a reserve. “We were in fact notified by City Parks that this classification would be given soon,” the representative said.
City Parks will soon hold a meeting with the affected reserves and Mary Borkett, chairperson of Norscot Koppies and Kingfisher Nature Reserve, said she preferred to reserve comment until after the meeting.
What are your thoughts on game being relocated from nature reserves in Fourways? Will the lack of game in these reserves influence whether you visit the reserve or not? Share your views on the Fourways Review Facebook page.
