Rhino Initiative

Help WESSA to curb illegal Rhino poaching

If you would like to make a DIRECT DEPOSIT, our banking details are as follows:
Account Name: WESSA National Office
Bank: First National Bank (or FNB)
Branch: Howick
Branch Code: 220725
Account Number: 62008310964
Swift Code: FIRN ZA JJ (For donations originating outside of South Africa)
Please use the reference "Rhino Initiative"

RHINO POACHING IN SOUTH AFRICA

In Africa we are currently seeing the methodical and calculated reduction of rhino numbers in their natural habitat. The number of poached numbers has been escalating year-on-year over the past 5 years.

It is true that we have experienced severe poaching pressure before, and defeated it. However today, because of the insanely inflated price being paid for rhino horn, the poachers are now employing a diversity of methods which no longer fall within the traditional poaching mould. Banked-rolled by substantial finances, the modern day poacher can now afford the latest technology and buy the services of skilled people and influential officials.

For conservation, this becomes a big challenge whilst at the same time an opportunity. The challenge is to find lasting solutions to the problem which secures the future of rhinos. The public can also be a part of this and therefore it is an ideal opportunity for every South African to become involved in conservation and the preservation of their heritage.

Current Concern

One of the greatest problems is that the cost of keeping rhino has gone up as a result of increase risk, and security costs. This has resulted in the live sale value of rhinos and hence the demand, going down for much the same reasons. Thus there is a net decrease in suitable rhino habitat being inhabited by rhinos which ultimately impacts on the opportunity cost for the growth of rhino populations in Southern Africa.

The Year 2012

January
It is unfortunate that the year seems to have followed the same accelerated rate of rhino poaching as we saw in 2012. The rate of more than one rhino being poached per day (1.2 p/d) is continuing, with already 24 rhinos killed.

Some good news…
Zimbabwe saw a decrease in the number of rhinos poached in 2012 as well as KwaZulu-Natal which saw a 13%. It shows we can make a difference. Well done to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and all the supporting organizations and the public.

The Year of 2011

In South Africa the distressing statistics are not much better and we will see the number of rhino lost this year exceeding all previous years’ figures. From last year, where we lost less than one rhino-a-day (333 rhinos), in 2011 we have seen us lose more than one rhino-a-day. In the last 4-years South Africa will have lost close to 1000 of these iconic animals which is close to 5% of the total rhino population in Africa.
Worryingly such a rate cannot be sustained and soon we will see the number of poached rhinos exceeding their replacement rate. WESSA would like to thank all those individuals and corporates that have responded to the current crisis, especially those that risk their lives daily to try and secure our natural heritage. As there will be no quick fix solution to this problem, WESSA encourages all to build on the momentum of the current efforts and to continue their support in order to combat the crisis at every level.

So what needs to be done?

WESSA has identified the key areas which need to be strengthened at all levels in order to see a shift in the rhino poaching tide. These are to have;

• more coordinated efforts and use of resources to fight poaching,
• access to more information and more reliable information,
• more effective people in place to deal with this information,
• better trained field personnel,
• a more efficient judicial system where rhino poaching is elevated in significance in terms of prosecution time and sentences,
• better prepared prosecutions,
• better crime scene management and investigations
• better evidence collection and management
• improved monitoring and legal enforcement,
• increased and continued public action and support,
• greater political will to stamp this out.

WESSA RHINO INITIATIVE

WESSA is active in implementing and supporting interventions nationally to try and curb the current rhino poaching crisis at a number of different levels. Our interventions are aimed as far as possible to have lasting solutions that will benefit rhinos and at the same time other wildlife. WESSA supports all custodians of rhinos, whilst acknowledging the work already being done by the conservation authorities. These efforts are as far as possible focused on being proactive in the fight against rhino poaching.

WESSA’s Call To Action

A recent report from the IUCN/Species Survival Commission reveals that what is needed to minimise the illegal killing of rhinos (through rhino protection and the use of effective investigation and prosecution techniques) and to grow rhino numbers rapidly (using monitoring to guide their biological management) is sufficient commitment and expenditure from countries with rhinos, as well as the acquisition of additional, targeted donor support. WESSA is participating by raising funds and awareness to help curb the current illegal rhino poaching.

We are looking for your support by encouraging donations to be made through our SMS line: SMS “Rhino” to 40706 or make a direct donation to WESSA with the reference “Rhino” for our Rhino Initiative. WESSA continues to raise funds and awareness to help curb the current illegal rhino poaching.

COPS INVESTIGATE RHINO CHARITY ‘CON'
Police have been asked to investigate a group claiming to be raising funds for rhinos (11 January 2011, Eye Witness News).
IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT THE ORGANISATION, CONTACT WESSA FOR VERIFICATION

What we are and will be using raised funds for?
WESSA is in the process of standardising the training of field rangers across the country. There are many different training operations out there but the lack of properly trained field staff and managers are proving to be an area of concern. WESSA and other organisations have found that not all conservation staff on both private and public land are being trained correctly and to the right level. This intervention will have benefits for rhino conservation as well as wildlife in general.

• WESSA will be supporting the implementation of specialised training for field rangers around critical skills. These include; Managing Clandestine Operations, Scene of the Crime Management and Evidence Collection.
• The Rhino DNA database will prove to be a significant tool in the management of rhino populations and in the prosecution of poachers/syndicates. WESSA will be supporting the development of this database through the collection of as many rhino DNA sample as possible.
• WESSA is involved in poaching information gathering that is aimed at collecting critical information that will be used by the appropriate authority. This programme has had a significant impact already. We will be looking to develop this into a Wildlife Crimes data base to effectively map and track open source information.
• WESSA is involved in supporting Mpumalanga parks in the management of their significant rhino populations.
• WESSA is lobbying with government around the current concerns around the legal hunting of rhinos.
• WESSA is continually driving this pressing concern through internationals channels (i.e. through the IUCN) to raise the awareness and support
• WESSA is raising public awareness around the issue of rhino poaching. This is important as it is linked to each South African embracing and respecting our natural heritage
• WESSA is part of Project Rhino that responds directly to rhino conservation needs as determined by those on the ground managing rhino populations (WESSA is a founding member – see www.projectrhinokzn.org).

It must be noted that every day we are learning more about the current situation and thus whilst being proactive, we need to be flexible in our selection of interventions.

Our aim and challenge is to keep the public involved through communication and involvement as in line with WESSAs mission of getting the public to participate in caring for the Earth. WESSA is, and encourages working with a number of other credible and like-minded organisations as there is no way that we can do everything and the resource pool out there is limited. We also aim to prevent duplication with other projects so as to again optimise our resource use.

A CYCLE OF CONCERN

The current economic crisis hit at a time when the incidences of rhino poaching were low. We have seen exponential increases in these incidences as the global recession gained momentum. One of the concerns is that private landowners (as well as public departments) may have cut back on security measures as a result of budget cuts. This would then expose increased opportunities for the criminals.

The facts are that owning rhino and securing their well-being is a costly exercise. With the added poaching pressure, these costs will increase. Together with the risk to the safety of rhino, the risk to people on these reserves may also increase. The incentive or benefits (to mainly private landowners) for having rhino on their property is thus reduced and so they may soon start to disinvest in this liability. We have already seen the effects of this in recent game sales where some lots of rhinos received no bids at all. Ironically this will have a direct impact on the organisations that need the money to help protect rhinos. The revenue generated annually by the live sale of rhinos from State reserves is worth millions of Rands. The 333 rhino poached is a financial loss of about R118million. With wholesale budget cuts for conservation from National Treasury already taking its toll, and the inability to raise sufficient funds independently, the situation could have lasting and serious negative effects on rhino populations.

Rhino horn is valuable because of the simple economics of the situation – demand far exceeds supply. South Africa has the largest rhino population in the world of both white and black rhino. We have traditionally been seen as a difficult environment within which poachers could operate. As the easier targets (i.e. other countries) have lost all their rhino, so the demand has shifted to South Africa. We also know that crime of all types is rampant in this country and rhino poaching is an extension of this.

The demand for rhino horn emanates from a few Asian countries (east and south East Asia). There are many apparent reasons for the need for rhino horn, but it is used mainly as an ingredient in traditional medicines and not as an aphrodisiac as is often widely reported. In more recent times it is being marketed to cure non-traditional conditions such as cancer. In Vietnam, rhino horns (including fake horns) are being sold through traditional medicine stores and hospitals, whilst other shops promote special bowls for grinding and mixing rhino horns. Further, rhino horns are being marketed through at least six virtual trading websites in Vietnam. The “online” horns are described as authentic, but no locations are given and only mobile phone numbers are provided in terms of contact details (Turton, in prep.). Scientific research into the analysis of rhino horn for potential medicinal compounds has been conducted. The results state that there are no medicinal properties and by chewing one's own finger nails, it would give you the same results.

Nonetheless, the potential market for rhino horn is huge. As mentioned there is no way that we will be able to meet this demand with the current population numbers. A rough calculation by Dr. Gerhard Damm, the editor of African Indaba, says that we need to harvest about 67.6 tons a year for China alone (the equivalent of approximately 15 000 rhinos per year).
WESSA believes that through people caring for the earth, we will be able to make a difference and turn the tide as has been done in the past on this pointless criminal activity.

The last century of conservation has taught us that we can never become complacent. We trust that authorities are doing everything they can and they must be applauded for all the arrests they have made. Increased pressure has resulted in an increase in the number of arrests of poachers. However, this seems to have little impact. To have a better impact, those that are higher up in the poaching chain need to be nabbed, not just the so called ‘foot soldiers’ that they hire, of which there are an endless supply. More needs to be done in order to get these criminals into our courts, and WESSA would further like to see the judiciary fast- tracking court cases against suspected poachers who, if found guilty, should receive the harshest possible sentence in order to send out a strong message to potential poachers.

The breakdown for arrests of suspected poachers is as follows:

The above graph maps out rhino populations up to and including 2009. From this graph, in order to extrapolate figures for 2010 and 2011, a conservative figure of 4% growth per annum is added, resulting in the following estimations:

White rhino Population 2011: 20,993
Black Rhino Population 2011: 1,815