Manager of the Table Mountain National Park Brett Myrdal has received phone death threats in the wake of the park’s decision to shoot the Himalayan tahrs on the mountain.
Park spokesperson Fiona Kalk confirmed on Thursday that Myrdal was threatened on Wednesday that ”if one single tahr is murdered, you will be next”.
The threat was sent repeatedly by SMS to the landline of his mother, which converted the message into an electronic voice.
His own home number is not listed, while his mother’s is. Kalk said a complaint had been laid with the police. She declined to say which police station the complaint was lodged at, saying the park wanted to protect Myrdal’s mother.
Myrdal on Monday announced that the park had begun shooting the tahrs as part of a programme to re-establish indigenous buck on the mountain.
Though welcomed by conservation organisations, the decision has also been met with outrage by some animal lovers and the National Council of SPCAs, which has threatened to obtain an interdict. – Sapa