Cape Town’s plan to permanently cage around 60 chacma baboons has sparked a bitter dispute over how the city should handle wildlife that has adapted to urban life.

The move, presented as an alternative to culling in the Simon’s Town district, would sterilize the animals and move them to a newly built sanctuary. Residents and conservationists oppose it, saying confining wild baboons sets a dangerous precedent.

Male baboons can stand about a metre tall and weigh up to 45kg. Resident Sue-Anne Norton said: “They’re not domestic animals. You cannot put them in a cage and you cannot put electric fencing around them because they will kill themselves trying to get out.”

At a protest outside the planned enclosure site, demonstrators carried placards calling Cape Town the “City of Chacma Torture” and carried stuffed toy baboons in makeshift cages.

City environmental manager Gregg Oelofse said communities were in conflict over the animals and that “we see a very poor welfare outcome, poor ecological outcome.” Activists blame urban encroachment and say residents should secure properties and remove food sources.