Conflict Solutions

Save Millions & Save Baboon Lives

Good News; It is Possible to Protect Your Crops & Protect Wildlife

Keep baboons off your property, protect your crops and ensure lethal methods of control are not necessary. Please;

Keep baboons off your property completely by installing a baboon-proof electric fence.

Keep baboons from accessing smaller spaces (smaller veggie patches / chicken coupes) by building a baboon-proof cage.

Manage Your Waste

Do not attract baboons onto your land & ensure your waste is managed effectively. Tips

We were sent this image of an orphan in need. A farmer killed his mother and then discovered she had an infant. This is the general story for 80% or our orphans. We plead with farmers; try to prevent baboons from raiding crops before you kill. Preventing wild animals causing damage on your property is also the law in most provinces.

Baboon-proof fences exist and can save you millions and also save lives. Get in touch if you would like more detail info@primatecare.org.za

Baboon-Proof Fences Are Achievable & they Work

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The environmental impacts of agriculture is a hot topic in the recent years and has had a lot of negative press. Similarly baboons equally have got a bad reputation, mainly due to humans encroaching on their habitats, poorly managing waste or not protecting their homes or farms. We all have a responsibility to minimise our impact on the natural world & protect biodiversity.

Baboons are a key-role-player in ensuring a healthy biodiversity1 and due to humans destroying their habitats2, persecuting them along with climate change it has been predicted that that chacma baboons are more under-threat than first predicted and new published science has predicted they could be extinct by 20703.

It is important to know, that agriculture and baboons can better co-exist. There are options to prevent baboons accessing crops and by adopting some baboon-proofing tips you could not only save your crops, but save biodiversity too.

Science is even producing trialled and tested ways to deter primates. We feel the only way to truly protect crops is to erect a baboon-proof electric fence (or fully cage smaller veggie patches / chicken coupes).

A relatively cheap fence design trialled by scientists Howlett & Hill, 2016.

"The results presented here suggest that crop depredation by wild primates may be reduced or even prevented through the use of relatively simple fencing techniques based on zoo exhibit design, where a barrier is placed around the top of the fence. Furthermore, a fence as low as 2 m could be effective in excluding baboons of all age–sex classes. ..

.. After initial construction efforts, physical barriers require little from farmers other than maintenance costs and labour (Hill & Wallace, 2012). The barrier and overhang elements of the design are the important features which prevent the primates from climbing over. Any durable material can be used for the barrier around the top of the fence – heavy duty plastic (most common in zoos), metal and wood – and should be applicable to a broad range of species. The fence design tested here provides an adaptable, nonlethal, long-term method of protecting farmers’ crops against primates. The next step will be to conduct a larger, ﬁeld-scale trial using this fence design to further assess its utility in reducing human–primate conﬂict."

Scientific Paper on Fence Design

Electric Baboon-Proof Fence We Installed & Use With 100% Effectiveness

We purposefully designed and installed an electric fence to protect some of our facilities from damage from a very habituated and challenging wild troop which choose to call our boundaries home. It has been 100% effective (if the vehicle airlock is used). We use similar fencing for our semi-wild baboon enclosures. The fence looks clean, tidy and covers a vast area;

The fence has 1800x65x2.0mm diamond mesh 
It has a concrete base around whole fence with diamond mesh secured into the base
There is a 3m y-standard 600mm deep into the ground & 2.4m k-standard is attached by 3 short pieces of K-std (welded) and a 500mm over hang.
It is electrified with 29 strands (15+ and 14 earth).
It works on a solar system -but can be via a transformer. We used Genex for most materials and private contractors for installation
The bottom wires are not electrified (to comply with Environmental Laws & protect small wildlife species), but they are still in place to "look the part" (although likely unnecessary).

Virtual Fence Idea

Scientists in the Cape have been studying "Virtual Fencing as a New Strategy for Baboon Management". We have no experience of this design, however, we are interested if it works.

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