05 Mar 2019

Some farmers in the periphery of Gumare have complained about the excessive damage caused by elephants in their crop fields. 

  The elephants are destroying fences and feeding on everything that has been planted leaving farmers empty handed.

In an interview, Mr Father Mange of Kadangasa fields near Tubu said many farmers in the area had experienced the damage, and that many incidents still continued to be reported. 

He said the damage caused by elephants was extreme and appealed for prompt intervention from relevant authorities.

Mr Mange said in 2018 elephants  destroyed his five hectare farm leaving him with nothing to feed his family.

He said he reported the incident to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, but that to date they never showed up to assess the damage so that he could be compensated.

Furthermore, Mr Mange said the elephants population continued to grow hence the conflict with humans. 

“An elephant is a dangerous animal to co-exist with, and we live in fear. To scare the animals away at night we use huge torches with high light intensity as elephants are not a fan of light,” he said. 

Another farmer, Mr Galethopheope Xhose said his crops were also destroyed by the animals in 2018.

“Nowadays we have resorted to not reporting the damage caused by elephants since we barely get any assistance. The compensation is too low, so I never reported the incident,” he said. Mr Boitshwarelo Seepetswe of Samotshoka fields also decried the damage caused by elephants to his crops.

“Just yesterday, these animals were in my field, hence I was forced to mount a tent in the middle of the farm so that I can protect the remaining crops. 

In the evening I burn refuse to scare them,” he said. During the day, Mr Seepetswe is always present at the fields so that he could give the beasts a fright by making a loud noise. He said his neighbours did not bother to plough their fields this year, citing the agony they had to go through every year at the hands of elephants.

Principal wildlife warden in Gumare, Mr Orbitt Rantlole said their department was committed to assisting farmers, adding that Tubu was one area which they visited frequently. 

He, however, noted that they were experiencing challenges of lack of funds and transport to efficiently help the situation.

Human deaths caused by elephants in the area are a concern to the community. 

In a space of seven days, two people were killed by elephants in different incidents at some settlements in the periphery of Gumare. 

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi recently received a report from the sub committee of cabinet on the hunting ban. No decision has been taken yet with respect to the recommendations contained in the report. 

The moratorium on hunting was introduced in 2014 and was not meant to be a permanent decision. It was against this background that government decided to consult stakeholders on the hunting ban in view of the human wildlife conflict. ends