Abusive control of wild animal populations

Incidence

In 1995, the South African National Parks Board announced a policy of scientifically culling its elephant herds to keep numbers down and prevent damage to the environment. The breeding herds would mainly be culled in those areas where the greatest damage had been done to trees. Park officials said thousands of baobab trees had died in the Kruger Park since 1985 as a result of drought and elephant damage.

Counter-claim

The problem of elephant culling is far more complex. It involves the rights and wrongs of a whole host of animals. It's not just a question of elephants bashing down trees. It's a question of the role of the elephant in a very complex eco-system. In areas where elephants have broken down trees and opened up land, bush pigs have become extinct. An endemic chameleon and an endemic lizard are in bad shape... is the elephant more important than a lizard or a chameleon?