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To cull or not to kill - the elephant in the human room

Theherald · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 679 words · By Gary M Koekemoer
Animal rights Wildlife Conservation Environmental Governance
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Daily briefing

What to know about Animal rights

We have an elephant problem, one of human making.

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 4
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

We have an elephant problem, one of human making.

Why it matters

Our success in saving elephants now means we have too many for the space we can safely keep them in.

Common ground

Consequently, they’re trashing the trees essential to the ecosystems that support them.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Black-and-White Fallacy: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theherald.co.za/opinion/columnists/2026-08-20-to-cull-or-not-to-kill…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 4 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 85% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Black-and-White Fallacy 95% confidence
Presenting only two options when more exist.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing black-and-white fallacy helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified 2
info Single Source 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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Claim 1: “Contraception works, but takes years, costs a ton, and essentially kicks the can down the road.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources discuss elephant contraception as a management option, with the BBC and other papers noting it is a trial/solution but often controversial or a 'bitter pill', supporting the idea that it is a complex and not a simple 'silver bullet' solution.
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web search NEUTRAL — Management techniques of the elephant population are required to maintain the delicate balance of the savannah ecosystem. Many different options are available, one of which is elephant contraception. …
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-monroe-environmentalb…
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web search NEUTRAL — Birth control for elephants in South Africa is being hailed as a success, after the introduction of a contraception vaccine being trialled by researchers, but the plans have provoked considerable cont…
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-19990483
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web search NEUTRAL — PDF | ELEPHANT CONTRACEPTION IS INCREASINGLY being identified as a solution to the problem of growing elephant numbers in conservation areas.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234111322_Elephant_…
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Claim 2: “It’s not just a South African problem, our neighbours face the same dilemma, with less space and resources.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (WWF and a news report on Botswana/Namibia) confirm that Southern African countries beyond South Africa face human-wildlife conflict and population management dilemmas due to increasing elephant numbers.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa is a major global tourist destination, with the tourism industry accounting for 5.8% of the country's GDP as of May 2026, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). In 2025, South A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_South_Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa. It includes fully recognised states, states with limited or zero recognition, and dependent territories of both African and non-…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_d…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. The country consists of nine provinces, and is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 3: “Elephants typically graze close to water sources, remove the water and the elephants move on, giving the veld breathing room until the rains return.”
VERIFIED
The provided PDF evidence explicitly states that artificial water sources allow elephants to overexploit vegetation in areas that would otherwise be inaccessible, and another source explains why removing these sources benefits the environment by forcing movement.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Asian elephant drinking water with trunk. The trunk's extreme flexibility allows it to forage and wrestle other elephants with it. It is powerful enough to lift up to 350 kg (770 lb), but it also has …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant
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web search NEUTRAL — Elephants need water—lots of it. Depending on their size, they must drink 100 to 200 litres at least every two to three days to avoid potentially severe dehydration. In hot weather, an elephant can lo…
https://d2mohlla1urrgt.cloudfront.net/journal/removing-artif…
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web search NEUTRAL — Artificial water sources allow more extensive dry season ranging, allowing elephants to use -and potentially overexploit -vegetation in areas that would have be otherwise inaccessible to them except i…
https://www.academia.edu/128692527/Water_for_African_elephan…
info
Claim 4: “Non-lethal solutions are aplenty, such as capture and ship the herd elsewhere. Except elsewhere is no longer taking elephants and the cost of relocation is exorbitant.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While one source mentions the difficulty and process of translocation, there is no corroborating evidence provided in the search results regarding the 'exorbitant cost' or the claim that 'elsewhere is no longer taking elephants'.
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web search NEUTRAL — Even if the elephants are relocated they are used to resume to their usual place. But in absence of any solution officers have to relocate them for the sake of both parties. However it is not an overn…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ofpquJmj4
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web search NEUTRAL — Claims that the 11 dead elephants were some of the “last remaining elephants in Thailand” are far from the truth. The country has, in fact, seen an increase in the wild population of elephants over th…
https://asiatimes.com/2019/10/elephant-herds-increasing-desp…
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web search NEUTRAL — Male elephants will leave the family unit when they reach their teenage years, typically between 12 and 15 years of age.The long-term survival of a rejected calf is even less likely if there are no ot…
https://enviroliteracy.org/why-do-elephant-herds-reject-babi…
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Claim 5: “And mixed into the benefit bag was that of trophy hunting, big dollars for big tusks paid for conservation efforts.”
CORROBORATED
Evidence from Mozambique (Sango NP) and Botswana confirms that trophy hunting revenue is used to fund conservation efforts and park operations.
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web search NEUTRAL — “Sustainable utilisation” means the use of wildlife for hunting or trophy hunting. Pabst, who purchased Sango in 1993 and opened its doors 10 years later, says that trophy hunting provides approximate…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation…
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web search NEUTRAL — Botswana had banned trophy hunting in 2014 to combat poaching and a decline in elephant populations, but the ban was repealed in 2019 amid complaints from locals. Now, Botswana issues quotas on how ma…
https://www.fox9.com/news/botswana-elephants-germany-trophy-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Supporters of trophy hunting often argue that “there are too many elephants” or that hunting revenue is essential for conservation. The claims sound practical.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/elephant-room-does-trophy-hun…
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Claim 6: “Culling had benefits in other ways, elephant meat became a neat little side hustle, an elephant in a can was a useful low-cost protein and revenue source.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources mention that culling provides meat as a protein source for local communities and that revenue was generated from the sale of ivory and other products.
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web search NEUTRAL — Elephant meat provides much needed protein.The international ban on the sale of ivory has made culling prohibitively expensive. The cost of mounting a culling operation of 1000 elephants is around USD…
https://www.patrolling.org/correlation-poaching-and-culling/
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web search NEUTRAL — Culling elephants on no good scientific grounds is likely to undermine efforts to grow the sector. This bodes poorly for the future of the region.
https://futures.issafrica.org/blog/2024/The-elephant-in-the-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Revenue from the sale of ivory and other elephant products. Provision of meat to local communities, which adds food resources. Final Answer. 1.5.1: Excess population (20,000).
https://studyx.ai/homework/104717970-1-5-read-the-article-be…
help
Claim 7: “Gary M Koekemoer, WESSA’s environmental governance committee chair”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results to confirm the identity or role of Gary M Koekemoer.
verified
Claim 8: “Whether it be the vast size of Kruger or the niche of Pilansberg, elephants that cannot migrate at some point outgrow their enclosed space.”
VERIFIED
While the evidence doesn't explicitly use the phrase 'outgrow their space' for both parks in one sentence, it confirms Pilanesberg is a relatively small enclosed area (550km2) and the WWF source explicitly states that Kruger's habitat can only sustain a certain number (7,000) and that numbers have exceeded this, implying they have outgrown the sustainable capacity of the space.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa and the largest living terrestrial animal, with fully …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_bush_elephant
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Musth or must is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants characterized by aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones. It has been known in Asian elephants for 3…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musth
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Pilanesberg National Park is located north of Rustenburg in the North West Province of South Africa. The park owes its existence to a rehabilitation project which started in 1979, and the subseque…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilanesberg_National_Park
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “Kruger and other reserves used to cull, but lethal management was abandoned due to public pressure.”
CORROBORATED
The WWF source explicitly states that Kruger stopped culling about a decade ago as a result of international pressure, and the IFAW source confirms the ongoing debate regarding the cessation of culling in Kruger.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. Originally known as The Sabi Game Reserve, it became a game reserve in 1898. The park became k…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kruger_National_Par…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kruger National Park (Afrikaans: [ˈkry.(j)ər]) is a national park in South Africa covering an area of 19,623 km2 (7,576 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruger_National_Park
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South African National Parks (SANParks) is the body responsible for managing South Africa's national parks. SANParks was formed in 1926, and currently manages 21 national parks and 10 marine protected…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_National_Parks
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.