15/06/2026
Below excerpts from a letter written by Johann Botha 10 years ago in 2016 after the previous fence round of 2013-2017 executed by the same Cape nature & BirdLife International Africa now cold bloodedly announcing their new inhuman fence plans for 2026-2028
"Bamboesina and fellow penguin lovers
I have finished my coffee, and I fear that this may be my last environmental fight. You can't win the hearts of people who have no hearts, who call you mad, unscientific or anamorphic simply because you feel that other creatures, that Nature as a whole, Mother Earth, also has rights. It will cost us dearly in future, but in true South African style, that is tomorrow's problem. For now, all I can do is sit back and feel Chief Seattle's great loneliness of spirit settle around us. Maybe I've finally given up. Or maybe, by tomorrow I'll try to give it one more go. I'd prefer the penguins not to die.
Just before I went to bed last night, I received a reply from Mark Anderson of Birdlife. I was excited, because he was my last hope in bringing sanity back into the debate about the fence. I spent hours writing his letter, compiling the 20 most important conservation and scientific red flags about why the fence will spell disaster for the colony, carefully pointing out, once again, that this is the only remaining breeding colony of the species with positive growth, and that we should therefore be extra-cautionary in any management decisions, especially something as incisive as the new fence will be.
But, like all the others we've approached about this, he did not shed light, in stead, like his predecessors, he chose to avoid all 20 issues, not even referring to them, simply stating that the fence will have no impact and that they support Cape Nature in all their decisions.
I could not believe my eyes – how can he say there will be no impact when i've just supplied him with proof of the massive impact? Did he not read my letter? I could not sleep last night. More than four years of collecting data, doing research, being publicly and falsely discredited, you being victimised, me being threatened - after all of this – to once again run into the same brick wall. As soon as we ask for facts to support their decision they cut off the debate by blocking us, ignoring us or falling back on personal attacks. Or suddenly start talking about the fishing stocks, which has absolutely no link to the fence whatsoever. How can it be that the whole penguin conservation world have all gone mad at the same time? Or have I finally lost my marbles? Remember back in 2012 when Stony resident Mark warned us that we cannot win this fight. He said they will just frustrate, delay and simply wear us down into submission...
The difference being that penguins can't talk, won't take them to court and will hopefully just go quietly extinct.
And if they do go, and some hard-ass journalist or an innocent nature lover should ask any questions about it, they will blame it on the fish stocks disappearing, on climate change or on whatever sellable reason their marketing departments can come up with. And should there be follow-up questions they will simply block you and embark on a process of threatening you and trying to discredit you.
And then they will all put on their sad faces, and try and convince tourists and donors that they were the hero's and therefore deserve more money and more research projects to try and not save the next species in line for extinction.
Right now, penguin scientists are spending loads of donor funding and many hours of research time, planning to get two artificial penguin breeding colonies going. The odds are against them, as no-one really knows if it will work. Yet, here at Stony, which is the only already working breeding colony we have, chosen by the penguins themselves and which obviously suits them, the same people choose to support the fence, cutting the colony off from most of the habitat where the penguins try their utmost to go and breed. Is it the hassle that is too much? Do the new colonies offer better fund-raising and marketing opportunities? Or is it simply the old-school control freak attitude? The penguin society and especially Cape Nature are about as transparent as the SABC board. And when someone dares to start asking the uncomfortable questions, they don't reply with facts, they publish articles and write letters claiming that we are unscientific, that we distort the facts, or even that we don't understand the complexity of the problems. Yet, these same people who claim to have this superior insight into complex issues, can't even follow my line of argument and complain that my letters are too long and exhaustive. Shame...
I have finished my coffee, and I fear that this may be my last environmental fight. You can't win the hearts of people who have no hearts, who call you mad, unscientific or anamorphic simply because you feel that other creatures, that Nature as a whole, Mother Earth, also has rights. It will cost us dearly in future, but in true South African style, that is tomorrow's problem. For now, all I can do is sit back and feel Chief Seattle's great loneliness of spirit settle around us. Maybe I've finally given up. Or maybe, by tomorrow I'll try to give it one more go. I'd prefer the penguins not to die. "
written By Johann Botha in 2016 thank you ! 🐧✌♥️
