• Making a decision on the elephant-culling question seems to be a very difficult problem for you. You cannot and should not listen to the animal rightists – whose agenda in this debate is concerned JUST about maintaining emotional hype in the public mind in order to make more money. You certainly should NOT accept the opinions of any scientist who is sponsored by the animal rightists – as credible “scientific” opinion – because their scientific integrity is in question. The opinions of such scientists can ONLY be seen as an extension of the animal rights propaganda machine. And you cannot consider the opinions of those in tourism because their opinions are parochial and in no way seasoned by any true understanding of the wildlife management principles involved.
• All I can say to help you in your dilemma, Sir, is that, although I have serious reservations about the workability of the “new” elephant management plan for Kruger, the BEST and ONLY people you should be listening to are the SANParks scientists of Kruger National Park. Why else do you employ them? THEY are the ONLY people, of ALL those who have expressed opinions on this matter, who can be held accountable for the recommendations that they make. They live and work day-and-night, and they eat-and-sleep, with this problem constantly at the forefront of their minds. THEY have the ONLY true “emotional-ownership” of the problem. THEY have the ONLY honest passion to resolve the elephant over-population problem in the national park that they love. And I know that THEY want culling to start as soon as possible – for all the reasons I have stated. Once the culling has been resumed another debate can begin – an internal SANParks debate – regarding how to overcome the shortcomings of the new elephant management plan for Kruger. The important thing to do, at this point in time, however, is to get the elephant culling started again.
• There is a great deal of criticism being leveled at you, Sir – especially by our hunters and by those people who are active in South Africa’s wildlife industry - for paying too much attention to the anti-culling views of the animal rights groups. It is said you are bending over backwards to accommodate their demands whilst giving far less attention to the opinions of those who support and put into practice the objectives of South Africa’s National Conservation Strategy. Indeed, many people believe that you do not KNOW that the animal rightists oppose the attainment of a cornerstone principle of South Africa’s National Conservation Strategy. South Africans in the wildlife industry see the animal rightists as “the enemy”. They consider them to be “eco-terrorists” (rather than eco-warriors) because, when they do not get their own way, they threaten South Africa with international boycotts. In this case, they have threatened to initiate international tourism boycotts IF elephant culling is resumed in Kruger National Park.

• In the past the South African government has heeded these kinds of threats. Many people are concerned that you will do the same now. When it was planned, for example, to initiate a resumption of the Cape Fur Seal harvest in the 1980s, the animal rightists threatened to start an international boycott of all South Africa’s sea fish products. This persuaded the responsible minister of that time to stop the seal culling. I know this because I discussed the matter with him, personally! Honest, ordinary, South Africans don’t want to see a repeat of this error of judgement, now - with respect to the culling of elephants in Kruger National Park.
• Finally, Sir, you must understand that the decision you make on the elephant culling issue will have one of two results. IF you support your own SANParks scientists, and allow elephant culling to be resumed in Kruger National Park, you will have done something constructive towards preserving the biological diversity of this wonderful national park, into posterity. IF, on the other hand, you succumb to the coercive and self-serving overtures of the animal rightists, you will have condemned Kruger National Park – which will then ultimately become a desert. The choice is yours. So you are bound to go down in South Africa’s history either as the man who ‘saved’ Kruger National Park, or the man who destroyed it!

Yours sincerely,

Ron Thomson