The Overstand Municipality notes a number of claims being made on social media and elsewhere concerning the management of baboons in Betty’s Bay, as well as the outcome of the recent court application instituted by the EMS Foundation, and the order granted by the Western Cape High Court on 27 July 2026.

This media statement sets out the true facts concerning these matters.

Baboon management in Overstrand

In 2019, the Municipality, Cape Nature and the MEC for Environmental Affairs & Development Planning, Western Cape Province concluded a compactum in respect of the effective control and management of baboons occurring in the Overstrand Municipal Area.

The Municipality has developed a Strategic Baboon Management Plan (SBMP) which has been approved by the MEC.  The SBMP was extended to January 2027.

The SBMP is the Municipality’s overarching strategic policy document applicable across the entire Overstrand municipal area. It establishes the long-term vision, strategic objectives, governance arrangements, institutional responsibilities, legal framework and guiding principles for the management of all baboon populations within the Municipality. It provides the strategic direction under which baboon management is undertaken but does not prescribe detailed operational procedures for individual troops or towns.

The Municipality also operates under permits issued by CapeNature, which authorise the use of specified tools and methodologies in accordance with the SBMP.

The techniques employed by our baboon monitors are compliant with the conditions of these permits and are designed to manage human-baboon conflict in accordance with approved provincial protocols.

The position in Betty’s Bay

1. During 2025, in Betty’s Bay (as opposed to in some of the other towns) the Municipality used a shepherding only approach to manage baboons.
2. Raiding behaviour, both opportunistic and assertive, have been presented in the Betty’s Bay troop. During the shepherding-only period of 2025, however, the total number of opportunistic raids, as well as assertive raids, started increasing.
3. The Municipality began actively managing the Betty’s Bay troop in November 2025. It has been using gel blasters as a management tool in Betty’s Bay since the beginning of April 2026.

Review of the SBMP

The SBMP is presently being reviewed by the Municipality for improvements.

It is being informed by the structure, approach and content of the Cape Peninsula Baboon Strategic Management Plan and associated Action Plan of 2025, which are being used as a comparative best-practice reference specifically in relation to governance arrangements, sequencing of steps, stakeholder coordination, specialist input, and implementation structure.

The Overstrand review will, however, be tailored specifically to the local context and will incorporate information, operational experience, challenges, data and lessons learnt from the SBMP over approximately the past seven years. The purpose of the review is to update and strengthen the existing SBMP. This will include an assessment of the development of the existing SBMP, the intergovernmental arrangements underpinning it, its original management objectives, and areas where the current plan requires updating or clarification.

The review will consider the need for specialist input to ensure that the revised Overstrand SBMP is informed by current scientific research, best-practice management approaches, legal considerations, operational realities, and welfare-related concerns. Guidance is being sought on the appropriate process to identify, appoint and manage specialists who may contribute to the drafting and review of the strategic documents.

A structured public participation process will form part of the review to ensure that affected communities, stakeholders, authorities and interested parties are afforded an opportunity to provide meaningful input.

The process will aim to ensure that community concerns are properly recorded, assessed and incorporated where appropriate into the final reviewed plan.

The intended outcome is a revised Strategic Baboon Management Plan that is locally applicable, scientifically informed, operationally practical, and supported by a clear governance and implementation framework. 

The Municipality believes that the review will be completed within the next nine- to twelve-months.

Once the review is open for public comment, the document will be made available on the municipal website. The Municipality will inform the public when the public participation process commences and invites input and comment.

The Municipality encourages all residents and interested parties to participate in the review of the Strategic Baboon Management Plan (SBMP).

EMS Foundation application and order

• The EMS Foundation launched proceedings in June 2026 seeking interdicts preventing the Municipality from using the tools available to it under the SBMP and the CapeNature permits, including gel blasters, pending further legal proceedings for judicial review concerning the Municipality’s plans and policies for baboon management, and other relief.
• The Municipality opposed the interdict application on a number of grounds.
• On the day of the hearing, the Municipality and the EMS Foundation agreed to a draft order that states the legal proceedings, pending the finalisation of the Municipality’s review of the SBMP.
• The parties agreed that in this period the status quo in respect of the active management of the Betty’s Bay troop by the Municipality will be maintained, including the use of gel blasters.
• The Municipality undertook not to use in Betty’s Bay paintball markers, pepper balls or pepper spray, bear bangers, strobe lights, water cannons, artificial light, drones or night operations, as defined in the permits it holds issued by CapeNature in this period, other than where reasonably necessary to avert an imminent or actual threat of harm to persons, property, pets or baboons in Betty’s Bay.
• The Municipality must act in the best interests of its ratepayers and take reasonable decisions in light of its limited resources. The order was agreed by the Municipality to ensure that it uses its resources effectively and that these are directed to the review of the SBMP, and not diverted into defending expensive litigation.
• The Court order does not, as some posts suggest, prevent the Municipality from actively managing baboons in Betty’s Bay. The Municipality also has tools available to it under the order.