Environment Minister Barbara Creecy’s recent approval of wind farms next to the Addo Elephant National Park is nothing short of Ecocide - a destruction of the natural environment by deliberate of negligent human action.  I am the first citizen in line to agree that we are in need of renewable energy, but NOT at the expense of our wildlife.  South Africa is certainly big enough for other areas to be considered where an iconic national park and many private reserves will not be affected.

My name is Jeni Smithies, a passionate nature guide, author, wildlife photographer and artist. I am prepared to fight for the Addo Elephant National Park and all its inhabitants. 

Addo was founded in 1931 to provide a safe haven for eleven elephants that remained after so many were slaughtered.  For 92 years, the park has strived to provide the best environment for these animals and continuously acquired new land to ensure sustainability.  Our elephants are world-known for their placid natures and not one incident has occurred where an elephant has attacked a vehicle. Comparing this to Kruger, where culling has taken place in the past and poachers continue to decimate rhinos, the behaviour of the Kruger elephants is a totally different story.  Kruger has become very commercialised and high volumes of traffic are creating problems with elephants because of engine noise.

 I have taken over 2000 photographs and the more I look at them and picture the future images of these landmarks, the angrier I become.

 I spent a few days on assignment in the park with international journalists and various experts identifying areas where the turbines will be visible and quite frankly, these sites are almost everywhere. 

I have guided thousands of tourists through Addo and they all ask me to stop so they can photograph the spectacular views.  In an article on www.plataformamedia.com dated 5 April 2023 it states clearly “The Government guarantees that the visual impact of the project will be limited”.  I challenge whoever made this statement to join me in Addo so I can debunk their statement personally.  In fact, I challenge our Minister of the DFFE to join me on a safari in Addo for just a few hours.  Madam, you have absolutely no clue what a devastating decision you have made.

Not only because landscapes will be spoiled.  Evidence by an acoustics engineer has proven that the sound emitted from the turbines will interfere with elephant and rhino communication. Dr Angela Stoeger-Horwath from the Dept. of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology at the University of Vienna is deeply concerned for the elephants.  You stated in a YouTube video eight months ago that birds and bats are affected by turbines.  Why are you ignoring the warnings from acoustic and behavioural experts that mammals are also affected?  After all, bats are mammals too.

 Elephant attacks are common in Kruger National Park and the elephants are very much less tolerant of vehicles.  If the constant drone of low-frequency sound from the turbines has a similar effect on the Addo elephants, we fear their tolerance levels will decrease dramatically due to frustration of not being able to communicate effectively and irritation will lead to aggressive behaviour. As a guide, I am certainly not keen on guiding international tourists through a wilderness area where elephants are agitated and frustrated and I believe my fellow guides will agree.  Is it fair to use Addo as a guinea pig and expose these animals to constant low-frequency sounds that they do not understand?  In humans, this exact process is used as a torture and can lead to insanity!

Renewable energy is possible without harm to the ecosystem. We cannot fix one issue by creating a new one. 

Please help me by signing this petition and sharing on social media.  ALONE I CAN DO NOTHING, BUT TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!

Links to the relevant videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyoycsZmXFY​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQTM4gzbeXw