Human and Wildlife interactions within suburban areas

1. URBAN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
Transvaal Herpetological Association Meeting - 29/10/2016
Francois Swart

2. Francois Swart
Age: 45 years young.
Education: University of Pretoria BA (Psych), FGASA Qualified Field Guide, Qualified
Snake Handler , Qualified in Reptile Husbandry, Structural Pest Control Operator.
Occupation: Company Exec at the “The Specialists Franchise Group”, Snake Handling &
Herpetology Training Facilitator, Field Guide Training, Honorary Officer of the North
West Parks Board, Gauteng Regional Chairman of SAPCA
Activities:
• General pest control , business management, franchise consulting
• Particular interest in Non Toxic & Biological Pest Control
• Consulting on Urban Wildlife Control and Urban Biodiversity Conservation
Conservation Industry Activities:
• Part time / free lance Field Guide
• North West Parks Board - Rhino Monitoring Team Leader.
• Conducting snake awareness talks and presentations
• Conducting reptile awareness, indigenous reptile identification training in South
Africa and other African countries
• Conducting snake handling and snakebite first aid training in South Africa and
African countries
• Conducting reptile field trips and guiding
• Reptile rescue, rehabilitation and reintroduction to natural habitat
• Reptile & general wildlife photography

3. Agenda
1. Some facts on Urban Wildlife
2. What is Urban Wildlife?
3. Areas used by Urban Wildlife
4. Proliferation in urban areas, why?
5. Can Urban Wildlife cause problems?
6. Regulatory Landscape & Permits
7. Traditional vs Alternative
8. Ethics
9. When to intervene?
10. Methods
11. Urban Wildlife Management Resources
12. Public Awareness & Education
13. Service Offerings
14. Frogs & Toads
15. Feral Cats
16. Questions & Answers

4. Some facts on Urban Wildlife
• Populations of undomesticated animals in towns and cities are
growing due to shrinkage and loss of their natural habitats.
• In many cases towns do not yet have enough natural areas or
corridors to safely sustain wildlife which causes spill over into
suburban developed areas.
• All wildlife issues are in fact people problems!
• People are strange
– Varying degrees of sensitivity i.e. Judging farmers for their
“inhumane” treatment of jackals on farm land but being
outraged when a jackal kills their house pet.
– People place more importance on an individual animal than
doing what is best for a whole species.

5. What is Urban Wildlife
• Indigenous animals whose habitat has been encroached
upon by humans, development and industry and
therefore they now share space with humans, or alien
invasive animals that have been translocated and now
call our towns and cities home
1. Alien Invasive
• Any Species or subspecies that is not a recognized
domestic species and their natural distribution is not in
South Africa
2. Indigenous
• Any species of animal species native/ endemic to South
Africa which occurs naturally in South Africa

6. Invasives
• Feral Pigeon
• Common Mynah
• Feral Cats/Dogs
• Escaped exotics
– Rose Ringed Parakeet
– Many species of duck
• Rabbits
• General (Pest species)

7. Indigenous
• Reptiles and Amphibians
– Snakes
– Lizards (Geckos, Skinks, Leguaans)
– Frogs
• Arthropods
– Spiders & Scorpions
• Rodents
– Cane Rat, Porcupine, Various other rodents
– Tree and Ground Squirrels
• Birds
– Guinea Fowl, Loeries, Spur fowl and francolin, Weaver birds, Egyptian Geese
– Several species of Owls
– Pied Crow, Plovers, Spotted Thick Knee
• Cats
– Spotted Genet, Serval, Leopard
• Other Mammals
– Rock Hyrax( Dassie), Bats, Moles, Vervet Monkeys, Baboons, Bush Babies,
Mongoose, Jackals, Hedgehogs, African Clawless Otter, Brown Hyena

8. Weylandts Nelspruit

10. Areas used by Urban Wildlife
• Leafy, older, established suburbs
• Small Holdings
• Fringes of towns and natural corridors
• Cemeteries
• Homes
• Schools
• Green areas within towns, like parks &
wetlands
• Golf Courses
• Ditches and culverts
• Storm water drains

11. Why does Urban Wildlife proliferate in
developed areas?
• Prey & Food Sources
• Fewer predators
• Shelter & nest spaces
• Water
• Food

12. Can Urban Wildlife cause problems?
• You decide:
– Zoonotic diseases (Rabies)
– Dustbins and waste areas
– Urine & Faeces (Smell and hygiene)
– Structural Damage
– Injury (Bites)
– Vehicle accidents (Road kill)
– Vegetation damage / Lawns
– Pet mortality
– Fear

13. Regulatory Landscape
• NEMA – National Environmental Management Act – No 107 of 1998
• NEMBA – National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act – No 10 of
2004
• NEMLA – National Environmental Laws amendment Act of 2011 and 2013
• AIS (Alien and Invasive Species) Regulations
• Gauteng Nature Conservation Bill 2014
• Provincial statutes and permit systems
• Regional Environmental Management Frameworks
• Local Bylaws
– Johannesburg & Tshwane Bylaws
• JHB - Perpetrators can be arrested by SAPS and charged under the Public Open
Space By-laws. (Published under Notice No 831 in Gauteng Provincial Gazette
Extraordinary No 179 Dated 21 May 2004)
• Offence Code 112213 Section 16(1)(e) No person may: Capture or attempt to
capture, chase, shoot at, or injure, throw objects act, tease, molest or in any
other way disturb any animal fish or bird. Fine – R1000
• Permit to catch wild animals CPB1
• Gauteng Directorate of Nature Conservation , Gauteng Department of
Agriculture & Rural Development (GDARD) Permits Office

14. Permits
• The following activities normally requires a permit:
– Game & other animal capture & release
– Export, import and transport of game (between provinces)
– Certificate of adequate enclosure
– Captivity of protected species
– Recreational & Sport Hunting
– Possession of carcasses of endangered species
– TOPS (Threatened or Protected Species) & CITES
(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna & Flora) permits
– Special permits (Culling)
• Therefore if you plan to get involved in capture and relocation
of Urban Wildlife you will need certain permits as per the
provincial requirements in your area.

15. Traditional vs Alternative methods of Urban Wildlife Management
• Traditional methods
– Anthropocentric attitude of man, man seeks conquest not unity.
– Physical, Chemical, Biological
• P = Exclude , restrain, relocate, kill, habitat alteration
• C= Poisons, Repellents, Antifertility Compounds
• B= Interactions, Disease, Parasites
• Alternative methods
– Preserves the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community
– Proactive Management Strategy seeks to avoid the problem of over
abundance
• Exclusion
• Preserves natural habitat
• Creates a sustainable resource
• Corridor creation
• Reconnects human society with the natural world they live in

16. Ethics
• There a many ethical considerations in Urban
Wildlife Management
• Some species cannot ethically be relocated or
excluded due to overabundance and lack of
available food sources / habitat and the effect
that the situation has on residents
• Navigate the ethical landscape with care. A
wrong decision or wrongly executed decision
can have severe backlash
• Main stream media, social media

17. When to intervene?
• Trapping and relocation is not the first
option for a solution
– Injury, death
– Stress
– Attracting of non targets
– Capturing of lactating females
– Creates new problems at the release site
• Territory
• Food resources
– Applying Exclusion is the recommended
intervention

18. Catch & Relocation and Release methods
• Manual catching & Release
– Training
– Tools
– Transport
• Live Trapping & Release
– Trap types
– Baiting
– Transport
• Darting (Vet or Vet technician)

19. Culling
• This method is only in last resort situations when all
other control and management measures have failed
and the presence of the animal has turned into an
intolerable infestation with severe effects.
• Make sure of the following:
– You have a portfolio of evidence that all other
control and management measures were taken but
failed
– All necessary permits are in place
– Stick to bag limits or any other criteria specific to
the species being culled
– Permission in writing from the land owner
– Must take place at a convenient time when people
are not around
– There must be a plan for the proper and legal
disposal of the culled animal carcasses
– Media access? Personal opinion is never.

20. Urban Wildlife Management Resources
• Various people can assist with recommendations or with
the capture and relocation of Urban Wildlife
– Environmental Consultants
– Local Municipal Conservation Officer
– SPCA
– Zoos and Animal Parks
– Accredited Snake Catchers with permits & experience
– Accredited Animal Handlers with Permits &
experience
– Local animal rehabilitation centres

21. Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres
• Make sure that they are above board,
accredited and have the correct credentials.
– FreeMe (Gauteng)
– Lorypark (Gauteng)
– Wildlife In Crisis (Gauteng)
– Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation
(Hoedspruit)
– CROW (KZN)
– Tenikwa (Eastern Cape)
– Etc.

22. Successful Urban Wildlife Management
Some guidelines
1. Correctly identify the species
2. Alter the habitat to make les attractive to
the specific species
3. Ask for help
4. Use a control method appropriate to the
location, time of year and other
environmental conditions
5. Monitor

23. Public Awareness & Education
• Raise awareness, educate, talks and info
sessions
• Housekeeping (gardens, waste areas, buildings)
• Pets (Inside or outside)
• Depending on the buy-in, make changes
– Animal friendly gardens
– Green areas and corridors
– Exclusion
• Co-habitation vs Us & Them
• Benefits (Social, Environmental, Biodiversity)

24. Service Offerings
• Animal trapping, removal and relocation
• Animal Identification
• Exclusion / Proofing
• Damage Repairs
• Carcass Removal
• Deodorization and Decontamination
• Ceiling space and attic cleaning
• Monitoring

25. Frogs & Toads
• 33% Critically endangered
• Red Toad & Bull Frog
• Major source of food for birds and other reptiles
• Critical ecological niche
• Biological indicator of environmental health
• No Chemical or physical control can thus be done
• Only manual gathering and relocating back to local source
• No transporting due to Chytridiomycosis
– caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a zoosporic fungus
– Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic
population declines and extinctions in Amphibian species
worldwide

26. Windows Cats

27. Feral Cats

28. Feral Cats
• Feral Cats are responsible for millions of reptile,
bird and small mammal deaths each year.
• Caused extirpation of several species on Marion
Island after introduction of 5 cats in 1949.
Eradication is ongoing.
• They carry a multitude of diseases and parasites.
• Control Options:
– Trap and euthanize
• Public perceptions, inhumane
• Cost, volunteers, short term
– Trap, Neuter , Release (TNR)
• Current Best Practise
• SPCA responsibility

29. Responsible use of Remedies
• Act 36 Of 1946 Agricultural Remedies Act.
• Anti Coagulant rodenticides vs Owls
• Neonicotinoids vs Bees
• Organophosphates vs Everything (Chlorpyrifos ban 2010)
Roadkill
• Reptiles, Birds Mammals

30. Thank You
Q&A

31. Bushveld Mosaic
http://www.bushveld-mosaic.org.za/
• Contact: Ian Gordon-Cummings
– Phone: 083 655 7057
• Contact: Maria Cazzavillan
– Phone: 011 432 2535