Authorities in the port city of Simon's Town, south of Cape Town, plan to put about 60 baboons in cages to stop their advance, Reuters reports.
But it has created a conflict over how wild animals that have adapted to urban life should be handled. Critics are furious about the decision.
"If you live in an area where there are wild animals, you have to live and coexist with them," a representative of an animal rights organization told the news agency.
A government official defends the cages, saying that local communities have already been at odds over the baboons and that "we are seeing very poor results in terms of both well-being and ecological balance."
