North West officials evade responsibility for Madikwe elephant crisis, say MPs

In a scathing parliamentary session on Tuesday, 10 June members of the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment accused North West officials of gross mismanagement and evasion of responsibility for the ongoing elephant crisis in the Madikwe Game Reserve. 

The crisis, years in the making, has led to mass starvation and death among elephants, extensive environmental degradation and a controversial proposal to cull as many as 1,200 of them.

The most damning testimony came from Douglas Wolhurter, manager of the Wildlife Protection Unit at the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), whose presentation laid bare a catalogue of failings by the North West Parks and Tourism Board (NWPTB) and the provincial Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism.

“This is not a sudden crisis,” Wolhurter told the committee. “It is the result of decades of inaction. The elephant population did not explode overnight – these animals breed slowly. Every warning sign was ignored.”

According to the NSPCA, Madikwe Game Reserve now holds more than 1,600 elephants – more than triple the reserve’s original carrying capacity of 500, and more than six times the 250-elephant maximum suggested by early management plans. The consequence has been catastrophic: at least 70 elephants have died of starvation since August 2024, with many more in advanced stages of malnutrition.

The NSPCA documented suffering animals and dead elephants whose tusks had not been removed or logged in accordance with the law – a breach of the Animals Protection Act and TOPS (Threatened or Protected Species) regulations.

Wolhurter’s presentation triggered a sharp reaction from members of the committee.

“This is probably one of the most shocking presentations I’ve seen,” said DA MP Andrew de Blocq. “It’s absolute neglect. What concrete actions have been taken to hold the board and management accountable for what they themselves admit is severe mismanagement?”

Questions by a number of parliamentarians cut to the heart of the crisis: why were long-term preventative measures like immunocontraception denied by NWPTB even though they were offered repeatedly for free by the Humane World for Animals – in 1998, 2020 and 2023? 

Why were the NSPCA, despite their legal mandate under the Animals Protection Act, excluded from the second and subsequent meetings of the provincial task team overseeing the crisis response? Why has no independent investigation been launched?

The North West response was weak at best.

Jonathan Denga, acting CEO of the NWPTB, confirmed that the province had known about the issue for years but offered no justification for the failure to act. “Yes, the elephant population is a serious problem,” Denga said. “But many of the management options have been exhausted. We are trying to bring balance.”

Pressed by a number of MPs, Denga and NWPTB chairperson Khorommbi Matibe admitted that the NSPCA had not been invited to the task team as promised and gave no timeline for actual action. “Unfortunately, we were not privy to the NSPCA’s presentation beforehand,” said Matibe. “We need time to study it before responding in detail.”

That response drew a sharp rebuke from committee chairperson Nqabisa Gantsho, who issued a stern directive: “You have three days to respond. We expect answers by Friday, June 13.”

Wolhurter had previously noted that even though a draft culling plan was shared with the NSPCA in December 2024, the organisation had received no formal updates or invitations to task team meetings since then. “We were told we’d be included as key stakeholders,” he said, “but that never happened.”

Meanwhile, public scrutiny is intensifying. A tender issued in May by the NWPTB proposes the trophy hunting of 25 elephants, two black rhinos and 10 buffalo in Madikwe – a move widely condemned by conservationists and tourism operators, who say it risks damaging the reserve’s reputation and undermining non-lethal wildlife management strategies.

Although sold as a “game reduction” strategy, critics argue that the tender was rushed, non-transparent and economically motivated. “This is a reputational nightmare,” one lodge operator said anonymously. “Tourism partners were not even consulted before this tender was issued.”

Scientific assessments presented by the NWPTB and echoed by Wolhurter confirm that the elephant density in Madikwe – at 2.7 animals per square kilometre – is likely to be the highest of any enclosed reserve in South Africa. In contrast, the average for state-run reserves is just 0.79 elephants per square kilometre.

While all sides agree that the current population is unsustainable, the divergence lies in how to respond. The NSPCA has called for immediate inclusion in the task team, independent oversight of any culling process and long-term ecological restoration – beginning with invasive species removal and veld recovery.

But even the basics are missing. “We’re still waiting for a detailed ecological restoration plan,” De Blocq pointed out. “There is nothing measurable in place to rehabilitate the veld or ensure that the reserve can sustain its intended population.”

In closing, Gantsho didn’t mince her words: “This is a matter of urgency. We have seen suffering animals. We have seen death. We have seen degradation. The time for delays is over.”

This week will reveal whether North West can rise to the occasion – or continue evading accountability. DM