Press Release

Protect Primates and People Through Coexistence, Not Violence

We strongly oppose and condemn the proposal to execute baboons in response to human-wildlife conflict. Killing wildlife is not a sustainable solution.

It fails to address the root causes of conflict and risks undermining the conservation of one of humans’ closest living relatives. We unequivocally OPPOSE the killing of primates as a solution to challenges that are fundamentally caused by increasing pressure on shared landscapes.

Primates are intelligent, social beings that play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. They are not the problem—they are part of our natural heritage. The people living alongside wildlife deserve protection, support, and practical solutions.

However, violence against wildlife will NOT resolve the underlying causes of conflict. Killing animals is never a solution. As humans, we have a responsibility to coexist with the wildlife that shares our planet. Through education, community engagement, effective non-lethal deterrents, habitat protection, improved land-use planning, and investment in conflict prevention, is the solution to protect both Wildlife and human livelihoods.

We call on the Ethiopian authorities to immediately STOP any killings and instead work with conservation scientists, local communities, and genuine animal protection organisations to implement humane, evidence-based solutions that promote peaceful coexistence.

The future of conservation depends not on how many animals are slaughtered but on how willing people are to live responsibly alongside them. Killing is not the solution. Compassion, coexistence, and conservation are.

When you choose to kill humans’ closest relatives in the animal kingdom instead of solving the conflict, it’s a devastating failure and loss for both wildlife and humans. Coalition For Cruelty Free Africa www.coalitionforcrueltyfreeafrica.com