Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

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H. erectus
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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

Post by H. erectus »

Richprins wrote:The problem is SP say the carcasses are tested in the field, H. And meat disappears from the abattoir before it is tested there, IMO. Big difference!
Thank you for the feedback Richard,...
Lisbeth wrote:It all depends on who is right.......Jan. 2015 is far back in the past
Thank you for the comment Lis,..

Both much appreciated, however let's not miss the point here!!!
I merely post these comments for what they may be worth, in their
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find ground for reasonable argument!!! Don't throw the book at me, rather
more daringly then try throwing the book at them, the ones that published!!


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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

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Stop calling me Richard...creeps me out! O-/


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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

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Mind if I post your comments on facebook,
will not mention names,..


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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

Post by H. erectus »

Further more, Gerhard Smit did further research
and the reply was,....

Gerhard Smit I have been in contact with Prof Nick Kriek about this matter and he has kindly sent me this lengthy report which is much appreciated:

Dear Gerhard

In response to the issues raised:

1. On the matter of bovine tuberculosis in Buffalo it was mentioned that the prevalence in the southern part (the area most affected) of the KRUGER PARK has now reduced from 60% to 30% it appears that the animals have developed a natural resistance to this terrible disease.

I do not think that the herd prevalence of all the herds in the south of the Park was ever 60%. Some of the samples from herds in the south may have yielded 60% positive cases, but the samples were biased in many instances to increase the likelihood of selecting TB-positive animals. The herd prevalence in the south was never beyond 40%, and I think that it is what it will be should a survey be done now to determine herd prevalence. In my opinion the information given is thus out of context and incorrect.

There are genes that will reduce the susceptibility of cattle and buffaloes to TB if they are present in the specific animals, and, by an extended breeding programme, such an inherent resistance may be developed in a group of animals. Given that this attribute can only be present in the offspring of buffaloes carrying the gene, many generations would thus be required to develop a resistant population that will reduce the prevalence to the extent that is implied by the scientist. It is thus most unlikely that free-ranging buffaloes can develop a ‘natural resistance’ to TB in such a short period of time (short in terms of the natural history of tuberculosis that is a slow, chronic disease with an epidemiological cycle of more than 100 years). There is no way in which the existing buffalo population can acquire a natural form of resistance, other than by vaccination. There is currently no effective vaccine against tuberculosis that can be used in buffaloes, or in cattle.

There are no published data supporting the opinion expressed by the scientist, and I think that the data given are too limited, and out of context to justify his conclusion.

2. He is also of opinion that bovine tuberculosis has been part of the AFRICAN Continent for very many centuries.

For many years is has been assumed that bovine tuberculosis was introduced into Africa with cattle imported from Europe and Australia during the colonial times, and that bovine tuberculosis did not exist in Africa before that time. More recently, unique African strains of Mycobacterium bovis, the causal organism of bovine tuberculosis, were detected in Western, Central and Eastern Africa. These strains appear not to have spread to Southern Africa. All evidence in South Africa support the notion that the disease was introduced into the country with the importation of European breeds of cattle. The first diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis in South Africa was at the end of the 1880s, and it was first diagnosed in free-ranging wildlife (in kudus in the Eastern Cape in the late 1920s). As far as bovine tuberculosis in the Kruger National Park is concerned, it is estimated that it entered the Park following intermingling of TB-infected cattle on the farm Ludwigslust in the Malelane area on the southern border of the Park. From the time of infection, it took about 50 years or more for it to spread throughout the Park and into Zimbabwe in the north. It will take many more years for the disease to stabilise in the animal population in the Park - probably another 50 years or more, and only then will we know what the full impact of the disease will be on the various species involved, and its effect on the ecosystem. Currently, there are attempts to model these effects, but the data used are mostly short-term, thumb-suck numbers and assumptions about disease patterns and effects that develop over many years.

Africa is a vast continent and to make general statements about the presence and prevalence of any disease is scientifically unsound, and can only result in misinformation such as given in the report

3. The matter of the effect of bovine TB on the Lion population of KRUGER was raised and it was remarked that yes there are affected Lions in the KRUGER PARK but that it does not appear to be reducing their numbers, thin Lions are frequently spotted but there has always been thin Lions. We should keep in mind that less than 2% of the KRUGER PARK is visible from the tourist roads, there are very many and much more that we never observe from our motor vehicles.

There is no doubt that bovine tuberculosis is a serious disease in lions. The disease is the cause of death in at least some of the lions infected with the bacterium; and we see them dying of the disease in the Park. It is not known how many of the lions that become infected eventually develop the disease and die, or how long before they die when they manifest clinical signs. Fact of the matter though is, lions die because of being infected with bovine tuberculosis.

Information gathered about tuberculosis in lions in the Park, indicate that the infection can spread within prides by infected lions that disseminate the infection by coughing. It also appears that they can sustain the infection once a pride has become infected without further exposure to outside sources of the infection.

There is also sufficient evidence to indicate that the general age of death is reduced, and that pride structures are disrupted, with a negative effect on numbers in TB-infected prides. Infection of lions with tuberculosis follows the spread of the disease in buffaloes, and the infection is still not evenly distributed throughout the Park, as it is still spreading in the buffalo population in the northern parts of the Park. It thus means that lions in the northern parts of the KNP are less often infected that in the south, and that they form a source of healthy lions that can migrate to the south to fill the gap left by those killed by the disease – the so-called source-and-sink phenomenon. As long as there are lions to fill the gap left by those that die, the effect will not be so obvious, but in 50 years time, the result, and the effect on the lion population, may be much more pronounced. At this stage it is difficult to anticipate what the final outcome will be, but it is not anticipated to be negligible.

At times, some of the Park officials intentionally attempted to create the impression that the disease has no serious consequences for lions, as it may have a negative impact on tourism. To imply that there are no consequences for the lions infected with tuberculosis is not based on fact, and ignores the fairly extensive data that have been gathered about the effects of bovine tuberculosis on individual lions, longevity, and pride structure. The indications are that sustaining a healthy metapopulation in lions in the Park may not be without challenges.

4. It was also mentioned that during a similar epidemic in Australia, more than 200 000 Water Buffalo were destroyed SANPARKS could never do that to our animals.

This statement must be seen within context; which was not given

The cause of bovine tuberculosis, M. bovis, can infect a wide range of animals, and humans. During the Second World War up to 40% of human cases of tuberculosis was caused by M. bovis because of the consumption of M. bovis-infected milk. Applying the process of pasteurisation effectively controlled this infection, and the number of cases caused by this bacterium was reduced substantially. Because of the threat to human health, and the negative effect of the infection on milk production, bovine tuberculosis is controlled internationally, and its presence in a country acts as an impediment to international and national trade in cattle and their products. For commercial purposes, dairy cattle must be certified free from bovine tuberculosis, to allow their milk and other products to be traded for consumption.

Bovine tuberculosis is thus important from the point of view of human and animal health, and financially because of the inability to sell milk and cattle from infected farms. Countries thus strive to eradicate bovine tuberculosis, and for trade purposes, aspire to be classified as being bovine tuberculosis-free.

The cost of controlling and eventually eradicating bovine tuberculosis is enormous, and it is currently only attempted by the developed countries, of which Australia is one. Eradication of the disease, and certification as being free from bovine tuberculosis implies the absence of the disease in all species of animal in a specific country. This is why the Australian authorities had to kill all the free-ranging water buffaloes that maintained the infection, to reach their objective. The fact of the matter is that, if bovine tuberculosis occurs in another maintenance host in the same ecosystem, it is impossible to eradicate the disease from cattle. Good examples of such an event is the role of badgers in the UK, and of possums in New Zealand, in sustaining the infection, and making it impossible to eradicate the disease from cattle.

In South Africa we are in a very difficult position because of the presence of at least two maintenance hosts of the infection, other than cattle – buffaloes, and kudus. And there may be more. The presence of multiple maintenance hosts in an ecosystem makes it virtually impossible to control and eradicate the disease, in the Park itself, and in cattle because of the spill over of the infection back to cattle from infected buffaloes. Because of this, there is no justifiable reason to cull all the buffaloes in the Park with the intention of controlling the disease. Currently more than 20 wildlife species are infected with bovine tuberculosis in and around the Park, and focussing only on buffaloes, will not have any effect on the sustained presence of the infection in the ecosystem. Thus, there is no justification for even thinking of culling buffaloes in the Park for the purpose of controlling the disease. You would have to do this to all the maintenance host species, and all the other infected species.

Finally, buffaloes and other species of wildlife in other South African national and provincial parks and on private game ranches are infected with bovine tuberculosis. This situation makes it impossible for the South African authorities to control and attempt to eliminate the disease from the national cattle herd.

Our only hope of controlling the disease in South Africa under these circumstances is access to an effective vaccine, which is currently not available, and may not be for the foreseeable future.

I trust that these comments will give some clarity to the information given in the report. It is sad when ‘scientists’ fall into the trap of disseminating information based on insufficient scientific data, for whatever reason

Please feel free to continue the discussion should you require further information

Best wishes

Nick
Pathology Section
Dept of Paraclinical Sciences
Fac of Veterinary Science
Onderstepoort


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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

Post by Richprins »

This is absolutely brilliant, H.! And Dr Kriek! :ty: ^Q^

Helps a lot!

One must unfortunately remember that the old skelms of Foot and Mouth and Corridor disease are also endemic to Kruger... O-/

Same problem, hence the introduction of the Red Line prohibiting meat transfer decades ago. -O-


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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

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Courtesy G. Smit,...


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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

Post by Klipspringer »

From the Annual Report 2017/18:
Meat from Kruger National Park nourished local communities

Guided by the principles set out in the SANParks resource use policy, a Kruger National Park meat distribution pilot study is investigating the feasibility and impact of distributing various forms of game protein to local community groups as one of many tools used for relationship building, raising conservation awareness and sharing benefits.

Important considerations include assessing the logistics of processing and distributing meat products safely including transport, storage, palatability and food hygiene regulations while minimising any risk of Foot and Mouth Disease transmission.

The products to date, processed in the registered Skukuza abattoir, have included buffalo biltong, buffalo stewing meat, buffalo goulash and elephant goulash. In consultation with community structures, the meat products are shared with relevant groups including mostly local primary and secondary schools, creches, daycare centres, special needs community groups, hospitals, community meetings and drop-in centres.

Preliminary results from meat distribution to over 20,000 recipients to date indicate that, when combined with targeted conservation education and outreach, sharing meat demonstrates goodwill by SANParks, providing a tangible way of connecting neighbouring communities to the park and demonstrating the potential to contribute positively to local constituency building. Although the project has been well received thus far, further resources are required to achieve desired outcomes effectively.
The interesting bit here is: the elephant goulash -O- Elephant culling or only a few incidents of poached elephant or from natural death or shooting problem animals ???


Kruger National Park Management Plan 2018 – 2028 118 has a new term for culling: using herbivores for socio-economic development purposes
In addition, using herbivores for socio-economic development purposes may result in reduced herbivore effects if management implements excessive removals (mopane worms Gonimbrasia belina, buffalo, hippopotamus etc.).


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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

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Some say they have been culling elephant on the sly for many years, Klippies! -O-

I hope so! :yes:


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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

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Try to imagine how many things we do not know about O**


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Re: Questionable Buffalo and Hippo culling in Kruger

Post by Peter Betts »

Shooting Buffalo to Feed over population of Humans is So wrong on every level


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