Molewa announced various measures to address
the problem in Kruger Park, including bringing in an additional 150 field rangers;
increasing military presence in the park, enhanced intelligence gathering and
strengthening the border between Massingir and Komatipoort.
"Most of the poachers in the Hoedspruit
reserves near Kruger National Park have been Mozambicans, but they are certainly
not operating alone," says Tim Parker, a wildlife specialist and CEO of Game
Ranch Management Services, which manages an anti-poaching unit at Blue Canyon
Game Conservancy, one of about 40 private game reserves in the greater
Hoedspruit area.
“Like
our fingernails, rhino horns are made up of keratin; the only difference is
that human fingernails do not fetch US$60 000”
"At Blue Canyon, I've got a field
ranger force that has undergone intensive training and all of whom are armed with
semi-automatic firearms," says Parker. "This kind of unit is imperative.
Over the course of last year, about 30 rhinos in the Hoedspruit area were lost
to poaching."
The owners and managers of the private
reserves in this area have banded to fight against rhino poaching. "The
majority decided to dehorn the rhino, as we did at Blue Canyon in August and September
last year - we got permits from our local conservation authority. Every horn is
micro-chipped for identification purposes and placed in official
safekeeping," says Parker In addition, an initiative called Rhino Revolution
has been launched to raise funds through the sale of t-shirts and caps to support
collective anti-poaching initiatives, including the formation of a 24-hour
six-man reaction team.
The Rhino Rescue Project has taken
horn protection a step further and is treating the horns on live rhino with
eco-friendly organic compounds that are extremely toxic, but non-lethal, to
humans. An indelible pink dye is also infused into the horn. This can clearly
be seen inside a treated horn and remains visible even if the horn is ground to
fine powder 'All animals in the initial sample are in excellent health," says
the Rhino Rescue Project's founding member Hern. "The treatment was first administered
on our reserve in 2010, and since then two cows have given birth to healthy
calves. Another cow has fallen pregnant during this time. We have also
re-tested the horns to establish distribution of the treatment inside the horn
over time and to ensure that the treatment did not affect its overall
health."
The Rhino Rescue Project horn treatment
remains effective for approximately three to four years, after which
re-administration would be required. "We are happy to say that not a single
animal has been poached since administration of the treatment," adds Hern.
In a radical move, a group of private game
ranchers are calling for the lifting of the CITES ban on the trade in rhino
horn. They believe that if rhino horn is sold on the open market, it will destroy
the illegal trade as legally stockpiled horn (that has been harvested to
protect the rhino), will "flood" the market. However, legalizing the
sale of rhino horn may have the opposite effect. Environmentalists say it will not
stop the illegal poaching of rhino because there simply aren't enough rhino
left in the world for the market to be 'flooded'.
Rhino bulls produce about 1kg of horn a
year, females about 600g. One of South Africa's largest rhino ranchers, John Hume,
has dehorned all his rhino. He is believed to have more than 500kg of white rhino
horn registered with the Mpumalanga provincial government. The horns have been implanted
with government-issued microchip identification and stored in safety deposit boxes
at three banks around the country, waiting for trade to be legalized. Hume
believes that rhino can be "farmed" for their horns, which take approximately
five years to grow back to full size. This way, he says, it is possible to produce
enough horn to meet increasing demand for the product, without further
collateral damage.
TRAFFIC's Milliken is not convinced. "We
really don't have a handle on what the demand out there is," he says. The
reality is that there are not nearly enough rhino left in the world to test the
market. Before we know it, they'll be extinct and we'll be left debating what
should have been done.
Other Species At Risk
Many of our other animal species, including
lion, leopard and shark, are being targeted by the East in particular for their
so-called medicinal properties.
It is well known that China has a
market for tiger parts, based on the myth that by ingesting a part of the tiger,
one will inherit the strength and majesty of the animal.
Tiger-bone wine is also allegedly a
cure for arthritis and rheumatism. To make the wine, a tiger's skeleton is
soaked in a large vat of wine for an extended period. With so few tigers
around, lions and leopards are being hunted instead. The demand for
free-ranging lions and leopards is far higher than for their captive
counterparts.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) suggests
that already a significant number of leopards have been hunted illegally in South
Africa. To address the trade threats, EWT's Carnivore Conservation Programme, in
conjunction with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), is in
the process of implementing a project to assess the scale and impact of consumptive
utilization of their body parts.
As for sharks, it is well known their fins
have huge monetary value and are primarily sent to Asia for shark fin soup. Fishermen
are often only interested in the fins, which are sliced off' the live fish that
is then thrown back into the sea. It is estimated that 100 to 200 million sharks
per year are killed for their fins. Shark cartilage is also popular as an
alleged anticancer agent. However, there is no medical basis to this other than
the fact that sharks show low cancer rates. TRAFFIC is monitoring this trade and
promoting stronger marine law enforcement.
“It
is well known that China has a market for tiger parts, based on the myth that
they will inherit the strength and majesty the animal”
