City disregarding its own Environmental Strategy as it endangers wildlife and pets

19 October 2021

Multiple reports have come in of pets getting sick and having to be taken to the vet, reportedly with liver damage, following the City allegedly spraying public open spaces with poisonous weed killer.

I encourage residents to be cautious and appeal to the City of Cape Town to halt the use of dangerous chemicals in our natural environment.

The City of Cape Town is a biodiversity hotspot without parallel. There are over 3 000 plant species and 20 vegetation types occurring within the boundaries of the City. Approximately 200 plant species are confined to the City boundaries, and occur nowhere else in the world.

In 2017, I tabled the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Strategy, which was subsequently approved by Council.

The approved Environmental Strategy that my team developed stated that “the City, individuals and businesses all have a role to play in reducing the negative impact of their activities on the natural environment, including pollution” and committed the City to taking "steps to reduce all forms of environmental degradation in both the City’s own operations …”

We also committed that the City would  adopt the “polluter pays” principle and, “in all decisions related to development or land use change, ensure: ecosystem goods and services are not severely compromised …”

Furthermore, the City of Cape Town’s approved Environmental Strategy requires that the local government ensures "that the city’s natural and semi-natural open spaces that protect indigenous biodiversity and landscapes and promote sustainable economic and recreational activities…are appropriately protected and managed.”

The City of Cape Town MUST take environmental protection more seriously.

Issued by Fiona Furey, Communications Director: City of Cape Town Mayoral Candidate, 19 October 2021