Massive Blaauwbosch elephant rescue operation goes to court

A major operation backed by the provincial environment department to rescue 11 elephant from controversial Blaauwbosch Private Game Reserve has been hit with an interdict application.

The R900,000 operation, co-ordinated by the Aspinall Foundation and undertaken under the auspices of the department and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was due to get under way at the reserve, which is located in the Karoo between Uitenhage and Jansenville, early on Wednesday.

However, late on Tuesday night, the team was served with an application, lodged by attorneys representing United Arab Emirates owner Sheikh Khalaf Ahmed Khalaf Al Otaiba, to overturn their warrant to remove the animals — and the drama has now moved to the Grahamstown high court where the application is set to be challenged at 8am.

The huge operation, which was also intended to remove buffalo and giraffe, was set in motion after years of warnings from the Eastern Cape department of economic development, environmental affairs & tourism,  and concerns raised by the conservation sector about insufficient water and forage, and poorly maintained fences at Blaauwbosch.  

New evidence has emerged in the last week that the reserve  also apparently lacks the necessary Threatened or Protected Species permits and has not reported the deaths of rhino and elephant, an obligation under SA environmental law.

Milburn said the rescue team included American Chris Holcroft, who flew in specially  and whose organisation Wild 911 was co-funding the operation, plus elephant relocation expert Kester Vickery and wildlife vet Dr William Fowlds, who  was due to dart the animals from a helicopter.

 “The operation is going to cost R900,000.

“It is not about the money, however, at the end of the day it’s about these animals and we’re determined to get this thing done for them,” Milburn said.

The capture and removal operation was planned and mounted as a last resort, he said.

 “Some while ago we offered to support Blaauwbosch management but the offer was not accepted.”

In January 2017, the department served a stern compliance directive on Al Otaiba  related to concerns about his management of the reserve.

In April 2017, an elephant bull escaped and had to be shot.

In June 2017, the department said there had been no effort by Al Otaiba  to rectify problems identified in its directive and that it was considering pursuing criminal charges against him.

Also in June of 2017, an independent ecological review of Blaauwbosch was issued by respected conservationists Dr John O’Brien and Brian Bailey, which warned of “insufficient water, little or no operational budget and poorly maintained fencing that will facilitate further elephant breakouts”.

In October 2019, another jumbo escaped and looked to to be shot once again under instruction from the department because of the danger it posed to the community and the damage it caused to neighbouring farms.

It was saved by the intervention of the farmer on whose property it had holed up on, who argued that long-standing management problems at Blaauwbosch and the failure by the authorities to act had led to the situation.

The permit to shoot the animal was changed to a relocation permit and it was then moved  with the co-ordination of the Aspinall Foundation and other organisations and the blessing of the department to Mt Camdeboo Game Reserve near Graaff-Reinet.

Later in October, the SPCA’s Uitenhage branch, with the help of business and a neighbouring farmer, installed four new water points on the parched northern side of the reserve.

Milburn said on Wednesday that the 11 Blaauwbosch elephants were due to be moved to Buffalo Kloof Game Reserve near Makhanda, while the buffalo and giraffe were going to another reserve.

SPCA Uitenhage chairperson Deirdre Swift, who was about to fly by helicopter from Kleinpoort adjacent to Blaauwbosch to Makhanda to attend the court proceedings, said she was hoping for the best.

“We hope that the courts will take the history of this matter into account including the neglect on the reserve and that there will be a just ruling on this matter.”

Questions were put to the department but no say was immediately available.

The sheikh’s representative, attorney Kuban Chetty, said they had applied to stop the removal of the animals because there were no grounds for the operation.

“There is more than sufficient water and lucerne that has been put in place by Blaauwbosch management.

“We feel independent experts need to come to the property to gauge what they are claiming.  

“What about the stress of moving these animals?

“We have been working since August-September to fix problems on the reserve. We want a chance to put the situation right.”

Up until August-September, Blaauwbosch had deteriorated because of management problems, he said.