A rhino is killed every 8 hours in South Africa – the nation that is home to three quarters of the world’s rhino population and 85% of all rhinos on the African continent. The battle to save South Africa’s rhino population has taken on epic proportions in the last decade. Following a sudden spike in demand for rhino horn in 2007, the slaughter of these prehistoric giants of the African bush has escalated at a staggering rate.
It has lead to the acknowledgement of what is now called the Second Rhino Crisis, spawning documentary series like Rhino Wars. Rhino horn is regarded as having special medicinal properties in traditional Chinese medicine. However the biggest drivers of demand are in fact the growing Vietnamese middle class. Many wealthy businessmen regard a rhino horn as a status symbol and/or grind it up for use as ‘a cool cure’ for hangovers. Add to this a large population of poverty stricken people, who have no source of regular income and one has the ingredients of a full scale tragedy. What to do?
There are many brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to saving the African rhino – both the black and the white. I spoke with Dr. Mike Slattery, environmental scientist and founder of the Texas Christian University (TCU) Rhino Initiative. They have teamed up with South African wildlife vet and rhino conservationist, Dr. Will Fowlds, in an effort to ensure the long-term survival of rhino in South Africa.
The story of Hope.
Dr. Slattery explains that they focus on five key themes in their approach to the problem. Raising awareness, protection of rhino on the ground, community outreach projects, reducing demand campaigns and rehabilitation for the rhino. It was Mike Slattery’s involvement in the last of these that caused him to begin this programme. He shares the story of a white rhino called, Hope, with us. A large female who had much of her face hacked off by poachers. So severe where her injuries, that they struggled even to find a place to anchor the necessary bandages.
Rhino horn now costs more than gold, platinum or cocaine.
The environmentalist explained that when he looked in her eye and saw the pain and suffering there, he knew that he simply had to do something to help her and others like her. It is difficult for someone who has never seen one of these great prehistoric beasts in the wild, to appreciate just how special such a sight can be. I grew up in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, one of the natural habitats of the African rhino. As a child, I remember going to a small, local park to see two large white rhino grazing calmly, protected only by reinforced steal fencing. This, we were told was to protect visitors from a rampaging rhino, nothing more. The steal was a little rusty and could have been hacked relatively easily with modern machinery. It never occurred to me then that these creatures would become the victims of an apparently insatiable demand. One that has seen the value of their horns surpass that of gold, platinum and cocaine.
If there is one thing that can be agreed upon in this multi-layered problem, it is the source of demand and the fact that this has resulted in a staggering increase in poaching levels in the last decade. Research shows that in the 1970’s, Japan was the major consumer of rhino horn in Asia, followed by South Korea in the 1980’s and Taiwan in the late 80’s and early 90’s. However with the ratification of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and pro-active government intervention, demand has significantly decreased.
China and particularly, Vietnam are now the major destinations for both legal and illegal rhino horn. Growing wealth has caused demand to sore and has seen a corresponding shift from ‘health to wealth’ as some have dubbed it. The high level of demand together with the sophistication of the cartels involved, make it increasingly difficult to control. Dr. Slattery points out that there is now evidence that terrorist organisations including Al Qaeda, Boca Haram and Hezbollah are clearly tied into various poaching syndicates. Money talks.
Poachers typically get only 1%-3% of the market price of the horn.
Various solutions have been tried and proposed over the years. Protection of the animals on the ground can be highly effective, but is extremely costly. Amongst the private game parks in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa with which TCU Rhino Initiative works, 50% of their budget is spent on protection. This includes putting a plane up in the sky, 8 to 10 hours a day for monitoring purposes, teams of trained rangers on the ground as well as equine units. Poaching is a complex problem, linked to high levels of poverty. Those who risk their lives typically get only 1% to 3% of the market price of the horn. Theirs is a wretched existence and in some countries like Botswana, the shoot-to-kill policy makes it even more so.
Prosecution of poachers has been slow in South Africa and fines are typically paltry. Reduction of demand is the most logical solution but will take time. Time that many like Mike Slattery, do not think the rhino has. Others suggest that legalisation of horn, even the farming of rhino is the answer. However some economists have estimated that even if all the reserves of the South African government and the private game reserves in South Africa were dumped on the market, it would satisfy no more than 0.1% of the demand, Dr. Slattery tells us.
Rhino horn is useless – except to the rhino.
Perhaps, as an article in the Guardian newspaper points out, the question to ask is, who has an interest in perpetuating Vietnamese demand for rhino horn? Vendors, traffickers, poachers and even legal stockpilers of the horns have vested interests in perpetuating the belief that traditions are difficult to change. However, previous examples show that this is not the case. Ending all legal trade in rhino horn, thus removing its legal value is clearly the first step. Rhino horn is useless – except to the rhino.
Most importantly, attitudes need to change. Societies need to value the live rhino in the wild more than the horn of a dead one. Campaigns of the kind involving celebrities like Jackie Chan are key. Rather than being seen as a status symbol, use of rhino horn and other illegal animal products should be understood as, ‘I support organised crime’. Anything less is a betrayal of our environmental heritage and ultimately our humanity.