Accra, Aug. 01, GNA –The Coalition For Cruelty Free Africa (CFCFA) has called on Ethiopian authorities to immediately halt a proposal to execute baboons at Nech Sar National Park, describing killing as “not a sustainable solution” to human-wildlife conflict.
In a statement issued on Friday, the coalition condemned the proposal and urged government to adopt humane, evidence-based approaches to manage the conflict.
“Killing wildlife is not a sustainable solution. It fails to address the root causes of conflict and risks undermining the conservation of one of humans’ closest living relatives,” the statement said.
CFCFA said primates were intelligent, social beings that played a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, and that they were “not the problem” but part of Africa’s natural heritage.
The group acknowledged that communities living alongside wildlife deserved protection, support, and practical solutions.
However, it argued that violence against wildlife would not resolve the underlying causes of conflict, which it linked to increasing pressure on shared landscapes.
“As humans, we have a responsibility to coexist with the wildlife that shares our planet,” CFCFA stated.
“Through education, community engagement, effective non-lethal deterrents, habitat protection, improved land-use planning, and investment in conflict prevention, we can protect both wildlife and human livelihoods.”
The coalition called on the Ethiopian authorities to work with conservation scientists, local communities, and genuine animal protection organisations to implement solutions that promote peaceful coexistence.
“The future of conservation depends not on how many animals are slaughtered but on how willing people are to live responsibly alongside them. Killing is not the solution. Compassion, coexistence, and conservation are,” the statement added.
Nech Sar National Park, located in southern Ethiopia, is home to diverse wildlife including baboons, zebras and antelopes, and has in recent years experienced rising incidents of human-wildlife conflict due to habitat encroachment.
GNA
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong