'Rampant' Rhino Poaching on the Rise

'Rampant' Rhino Poaching on the Rise

GENEVA, Switzerland, December 1, 2009 (ENS) - Rhino poaching in both Africa and Asia is increasing, finds a report issued today by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC. The trade is being driven by Asian demand for rhinocerus horns and the report documents killing by sophisticated poachers, who now are using veterinary drugs, poison, crossbows and high caliber weapons to kill rhinos.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2009/2009-12-01-02.asp

RHINOS, RED HERRINGS AND RUSES: ARA RESPONDS TO SANPARKS CEO

PRESS RELEASE: 16 July 2009

“Red herrings and spin-doctoring” is how Animal Rights Africa (ARA) spokesperson, Michele Pickover, reacted to claims made by SANParks CEO, Dr David Mabunda, during a media briefing in Pretoria on July 14, 2009.

Mabunda was responding to an earlier press release by ARA in which concern was expressed about the SANParks decision to sell off over 300 White Rhino from Kruger National Park this year. “We were, and still are, concerned about the destination and fate of those animals once they are sold, and nothing Mabunda said during his media address has made us any less concerned. Far from being a ‘cacophony of baseless emotional outbursts’, as Mabunda referred to the assertions in our statement, comments made by him during his media briefing on July 14th and during interviews on Radio 702 on the 14th and 15th July, confirm the validity of our concerns”

“Mabunda persists in denying that rhino are not trophy hunted in national parks in spite of the fact that we have never made any claims to this effect. What we have expressed concern about is that rhino from KNP are moving across unfenced boundaries on the park’s western border into the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) and on the parks Eastern border into Mozambique where they can then be privately sold to foreign trophy hunters for exorbitant sums. Whilst on the one hand denying that SANParks sells rhino to be hunted at the whim of the buyer, Mabunda admits that SANParks has no control over the fate of the purchased rhino once they leave the KNP, saying that hunting permits are issued by the relevant provincial authority without SANParks’ involvement. This is consummate obfuscation and doublespeak. The fact is that SANParks has no policy regarding the destination and fate of the rhino it sells, which means that those animals could end up in zoos and hunting facilities.

Mabunda’s indignation at claims by ARA that KNP rhino could end up as hunting trophies is nothing more than a smokescreen for SANParks’ problematic rhino management policy. Also, his claims that the “recent emotional outburst by animal rights organizations is informed by an anti-hunting campaign deliberately directed at a soft target and cleverly disguised with our rhino population management intervention as a scapegoat to celebrate Animal Rights Week”, is nothing short of ludicrous, particularly as Animal Rights Week has never been observed in South Africa in 2009 and ARA has never heard of such an event.

Adding to ARA’s concerns about the sale of KNP rhino is the July 15, 2009 Beeld report which quoted Mabunda as saying during his July 14 media briefing that there are between 9000 and 12000 White Rhino in KNP. “If this in fact what Mabunda claims then we are very concerned that up 3000 White Rhino could disappear from KNP and the park management would be none the wiser, “says Pickover.

Responding to an invitation by Mabunda during a Radio 702 interview on July 14 that ARA should join him for a “cup of tea”, Pickover said, “We will certainly take him up on his offer and hope that such a meeting actually does materialise. Two previous attempts by us to meet with Mabunda have come to nothing, and a recent request to meet with Kruger National Park scientists to discuss issues relating to elephant management was also denied. However, should such a meeting take place we have a number of questions we would like answered. These are:
What is the exact figure for the number of rhinos (both black and white) killed by poachers in national parks and protected areas since 2005?
How much money has been made from these recent rhino sales?
Can SANParks provide us with a detailed breakdown and proof of how this money will be spent?
Will SANParks heed/support the call made by ARA for rhino management to be subjected to a public participation process and for the establishment of National Norms and Standards for Rhino Management in South Africa?
Does SANParks have a written policy regarding the post-sale hunting of Kruger animals and sale of Kruger animals to hunting destinations, zoos and circuses? If yes what is it, if no why not?
What role does the SANParks Ethics Committee play in decisions to sell rhino? Is the sale of rhino approved by the SANParks ethics committee? If so what is the process for approval?
How does SANParks evaluate and investigate potential destinations? If SANParks does not allow the sale of rhino to hunting destinations, is this a condition of the sale and clearly articulated in the tender documents, sale agreements etc.? If not, why not?
Will SANParks provide ARA with access to their register of buyers of rhinos from national parks since 1999?
How many rhinos have been sold by SANParks since 1999, including their ages and sexes?
If SANParks is not specifically selling rhinos to hunters, hunting outfitters and hunting destinations then why did they advertise the auction sale of the rhinos recently in hunting magazines?
How did SANParks arrive at the number of 350 “surplus” rhinos and determine which rhinos would be removed? ARA is concerned about the ecological and scientific validity of this decision and therefore requests the scientific data and evidence to support this.
How does SANParks ensure that Kruger animals are not being hunted outside the boundaries of Kruger where fences have been removed with SANParks approval?

“ARA believes that the management of all wildlife in South Africa should be totally transparent and with stakeholder participation wherever practically
possible, hence the transparent response by ARA to Mabunda’s dismissal of our concerns and the public airing of the questions we will put to
Mabunda should he go through with his offer to meet with us, “said Pickover. “We remain committed to policies that underpin ethical conservation and
which show respect for the inherent value of every animal.”

Ends.

Contact persons for ARA:
Steve Smit +27 (0) 82 659 4711
Michele Pickover +27 (0) 82 253 2124
ARA email - info@animalrightsafrica.org

ARA website – www.animalrightsafrica.org

Asian gangs pushing rhinos to extinction, report warns

Robert Evans


Poachers seeking horn for traditional medicines are driving once thriving
populations of rhinos in Africa and Asia toward extinction, global nature
protection groups said on Thursday.

In a report issued in Geneva, they said illegal slaughter of the already
endangered animals is rising fast, with rates hitting a 15-year high amid
stepped-up activities by Asian-based criminal gangs feeding the demand for
horn.

³Illegal rhino horn trade to destinations in Asia is driving the killing,
with growing evidence of involvement of Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai
nationals in the illegal procurement and transport of the horn out of
Africa,² the report declared.

³Rhinos are in a desperate situation,² said Susan Lieberman of the
Swiss-based environmental body WWF International, which issued the report
together with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The report, presented to a meeting of the United Nations- sponsored CITES
agency which works to prevent trade in endangered species, said South Africa
and Zimbabwe were seeing a particular surge in poaching.

While between 2000 and 2005 a relatively low total of three rhinos were
estimated to have been illegally killed each month in Africa out of a total
population of some 18,000, 12 were now being slaughtered monthly in the two
countries alone.

In India, 10 of the animals had been slaughtered for horn since January and
at least seven in Nepal, out of a total population for the two countries of
just 2,400, the report said.

In many Asian countries, rhino horn has long been regarded as a vital
ingredient in folk cures for many illnesses as well as for male sexual
impotency, although medical specialists say it has no healing or potency
powers.

Trade in any rhino parts is banned under the international CITES treaty, the
Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

But the WWF's Lieberman said the upsurge marks ³the worst rhino poaching for
many years² and represents a deadly threat to the animals' survival around
the world.

It was time for governments ³to crack down on organized criminal elements
responsible for this trade, and to vastly increase assistance to [rhino]
range countries in their enforcement efforts,² she added.

Steve Broad, who heads the TRAFFIC network that works with WWF and IUCN in
monitoring wildlife trade, said a lack of law enforcement and a low level of
prosecutions of arrested poachers was making the situation worse.

³Increasingly daring attempts by poachers and thieves to obtain the horn is
proving to be too much for rhinos, and some populations are seriously
declining,² he declared.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/asian-gangs-pushing-rhinos-to-extinction-report-warns/article1211182/

White rhino from Kruger sold to hunters, it is feared

Hundreds of white rhino from one of the world's most famous game reserves are to be herded up and sold, many of them to private hunters.


South African National Parks bosses admitted they had earmarked up to 350 rhino be sold from Kruger this year to raise money for other projects

Photo: REUTERS
Up to 350 of the rare animals will be sold this year alone from the Kruger National Park under fundraising plans drawn up by the South African government.

Animal rights groups have criticised the move and warned it would undermine conservation efforts at the reserve, which is visited by 1.5 million tourists every year.

Steve Smit, spokesman for Animal Rights Africa, said: "The idea of herding up animals from a major wildlife reserve and selling them to private institutions is outrageous.

"We have a duty to protect these rare animals, but the South African government is more interested in making money than conservation.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/5758266/White-rhino-from-Kruger-sold-to-hunters-it-is-feared.html