Rhino poaching – what can be done?

Over 109 rhinos were killed in South Africa in the first two months of 2012. That is approximately 1.8 rhinos per day.

Rhino poaching is becoming increasingly problematic in Africa so much so that ‘Africa Geographic’ magazine devoted their entire April 2012 issue towards it. I thought I’d put forward some of the facts and arguments because, as stated in the magazine by Dr Ian Player, world respected conservationist, all debate about the issue is important as it keeps it alive.

Being in South Africa (or anywhere in Africa really), you are much more exposed to the wildlife conservation debate and issues such as rhino poaching (or elephants being poached for their ivory) are very close to heart. It’s unfortunately easier to distance yourself from the debate when you’re far removed from these wonderful creatures, another reason why I thought I’d write a blog post about it.

There are five species of rhino today, with the black and white rhino existing in Africa. There are 3 subspecies of black rhino ([critically endangered] South-Western 2,000, South-Central just over 2,200 and Eastern 740 – West African was declared extinct in 2011) and 2 subspecies of white rhino ([near-threatened] Northern only 4 left and Southern plus or minus 20,000, 93% of which live in South Africa).

So what are some of the potential solutions to curb the exponential increase in rhino poaching?

The magazine conducted a poll on their readers’ thoughts about the efficacy of the following potential measures:

-upping penalties

-increasing anti-poaching controls and tightening controls at airports

-de-horning (this is where parks get in professionals to remove the bulk of the horn, but it still leaves a stump which can be attractive to poachers. The horn would also need to be removed every two years. More importantly, rhinos use their horns for defence, attack, feeding, greeting and guiding)

-treating rhino horns with poisons (this generates considerable debate about its ethicality as it exposes anyone ingesting it to a potential health risk)

-legalising the trade in rhino horns (highly controversial)

-hunting moratorium

-educating the end users of the products (further studies need to be done on the efficacy [or lack thereof] of rhino horn but there are also alternatives – a 2006 study funded by the UK government and IFAW identified nine potential botanical replacements for rhino horn). One such educational campaign is this one, ‘Rhino horn is a killer not a cure’, by the Humane Society International WARNING: contains graphic images of mutilated rhinos)

-a combination of measures

In the reader survey, ‘a combination of measures’ came out on top, closely followed by ‘increasing anti-poaching controls and tightening controls at airports’.

There are numerous organisations working towards anti-poaching and rhino conservation. Of the ones listed in the magazine, the ones that got my attention were:

·         Rhino Force – they have a presence in the Kruger National Park shops and online, selling scarves, bracelets and other items

·         Space for Elephants Foundation – I met Digs, the CEO of this organisation when I volunteered at Thanda Game Reserve in September last year. One of their projects includes protecting and managing rhinos and they accept donations and volunteers

·        Asian Rhino Project – I found out we have a non-profit Australian volunteer organisation that raises awareness and support for the three Asian rhino species – donations and purchases can be made online, rhinos can be ‘adopted’, and they accept volunteers

·        World Wildlife Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF– SA) – linked to the WWF global network – donations can be made online, or support can be shown for World Rhino Day on 22 September

Hopefully then this blog post keeps the issue alive just that little bit longer. And it’s heartening to know that we can all make a difference even if all we do is simply talk about it.