Rhinos poached in Lalibela, EC.

[brad890]

I hear you,but theyll just get shot in big open areas,how many healthy males do we even have left,& young rhinos fall ill. Sable & buck dont have rhino horns so that why they flourish ,just saying think its too little to late.

Mighty plains of africa will only have the big 4 1 day

 

I disagree with you to a certain extent, with the value of the animals and their yearly income from farming you'd be able to employ more rangers who's jobs it is to look after the rhino, and with farming you wouldn't have them in huge camps maybe 5km by 5 km camps?

 

and certain buck and sable are very valuable, black impala rams can fetch up to 1-2 million each, and black back or something like that impala fetch up to a million each for the ewes.

 

one thing that has been noticed about these back impala is their worm resistance is poor in comparison to the normal impala, so if natural selection were to take it natural coarse these animals would be slowly but surely on the decline (unfortunately no scientific articles have been published in this yet, so can't 100% confirm the above, but it is something that is being seen) , but because of the value of the animals their numbers are increasing due to farming.

 

now I'm not saying that farming is the ideal solution, but would you not rather have animals that are being farmed to draw from as a population to replenish game reserves and private reserves? then not have them at all?

 

at the end of the day it boils down to man's destructive nature, and poor understanding of the end user, that rhino horn has no medicinal value what so ever.

 

The Big thing is we need to do something about the situation NOW, because like you said number are declining so fast there wont be males or females to breed and farm with.

[ThePubSA]

Eastern Cape Hit By Rhino Poachers

Following the discovery of four poached rhinos at the Lalibela Game Reserve near Grahamstown in Eastern Cape, forensic experts were called in to investigate the scene of the crime.

None of the dead animals had bullet wounds, leading experts to believe that their drinking water had been contaminated by poachers.

Over 400 rhinos have been poached so far this year. 448 rhinos were poached in 2011, while 333 were killed by poachers in 2010.

The Kruger National Park has been the hardest hit by poachers, with a solution to the problem far from being found given the rate at which these majestic animals are being taken out.

[Tumbleweed]

On the black markets of Southeast Asia, rhino horn is worth more than gold, cocaine and heroin. This is the compelling story of a two year long investigation into a dangerous criminal underworld. It is a tale of greed, folly and corruption,

 

and of an increasingly desperate battle to save the rhino - which has existed for more than 50-million years - from extinction.

 

Written by award-winning investigative journalist Julian Rademeyer, Killing for Profit is a meticulous, devastating and revelatory account of one of the world's most secretive trades. It exposes poachers, scoundrels, gangsters, conmen, mercenaries, killers, gun-runners, diplomats, government officials and crime bosses behind the slaughter. And it follows the bloody trail from the frontlines of the rhino wars in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to the medicine markets of Vietnam and the lair of a wildlife-trafficking kingpin on the banks of the Mekong River in Laos …

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/KillingForProfit

[gummibear]

I hope they mention names in the book.

[gummibear]

The farking things are useless,they just want to steal from the tax payers.

 

SA defers making a decision on trade in rhino horn

 

SA WOULD wait for 2016 to make a submission, if it made one at all, on rhino horn trade to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (Cites), the Department of Environmental Affairs said yesterday.

The deadline for official proposals to Cites is today, and some lobby groups in SA have been pushing for the country to propose legal trade as a way of reducing black market trade and therefore reducing poaching.

Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa, who mentioned the possibility of a trade application in her budget vote speech this year, has said there were too many legal obstacles for SA to make a considered proposal to Cites next year.

Department of Environmental Affairs spokesman Albi Modise said SA’s submission to Cites for the March 2013 meeting would not contain anything on rhinos because rhino issue manager Mavuso Msimang’s report on how to combat the escalation in rhino poaching was only expected at the end of this month.

"The decision is to prepare for the following COP (Conference of the Parties to Cites) in 2016," Mr Modise said.

Horn trade proponents have argued that by then, SA’s rhino population could be in decline, with more animals being poached than being born.

SA’s rhino birth rate is still positive and the country is home to more than 80% of the world’s rhinos. But poachers have all but eradicated rhinos from the rest of Africa and SA’s estimated 22,800 are under threat from syndicates that sell the horn in Asia for up to $60,000/kg.

Poachers had killed 430 rhinos in SA by Tuesday, the Department of Environmental Affairs said.

World Wide Fund for Nature SA (WWF-SA) CEO Morné du Plessis said the conservation organisation supported Ms Molewa’s cautious approach. "We take a pragmatic position and are prepared to consider all solutions, but there are too many challenges and unknowns at this point," he said.

Mr du Plessis said the mechanics of the rhino horn market, especially the growing demand for rhino horn outside of its use in traditional Chinese medicine, were not yet fully understood.

Recently published research by wildlife trade tracking organisation Traffic has shown that Vietnam is a large consumer nation. A decade ago rhino horn was "noticeably absent" from Vietnamese markets.

Traffic has argued demand in Vietnam is linked to the country’s growing economy, and that the largest market for horns is among the young and newly affluent — and 65% of the Vietnamese population is not yet 30.

Mr du Plessis said the WWF-SA believed a new market such as this was more easily "terminated without resorting to trade".

Vietnam and SA are poised to sign a deal that will see the Asian country help to clamp down on rhino poaching and the illegal trade in rhino horn.

 

http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/science/2012/10/04/sa-defers-making-a-decision-on-trade-in-rhino-horn

[jaxtun]

ALREADY DEHORNED AND KILLED FOR THE FEW CM OF NEW GROWTH... WHAT NEXT??????

 

ZWF HOTLINE - Dehorned, pregnant rhinos killed - Zululand Observer 08/10/12 Story Dave Savides Plus two more in Sabi Game Reserve adjoining Kruger

Despite strict security and the fact that they had already been dehorned last year, two pregnant white rhinos were found dead at Bonamanzi Game Reserve on Friday. The poachers got away with barely a few centimetres of newly-grown horn after shooting the animals. Well aware of the poaching threat, the private reserve outside Hluhluwe employs round-theclock security, all their rhino are equipped with GPS tracking devices and all but one had been dehorned last November. ‘The last of the Bonamanzi rhinos to be dehorned, will undergo the painless procedure on Tuesday and is currently under the protection of eight armed guards,’ said a spokesperson. ...

‘It is unfortunate that this was set to be done two weeks ago but was postponed.

‘The practice is conducted under the supervision of an experienced and qualified wildlife veterinarian, the district conservation officer and attending wildlife practitioners. ‘Horns are stored off the property in a secure vault.’ Bonamanzi said all horns are micro-chiiped, enabling tracing. ‘Aeroplanes all over the country are tracking the culprits as we speak. ‘Owners and management of the reserve will spare no expense to create an idyllic, safe sanctuary for a healthy breeding population of rhino on the reserve.’

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PLUS - A rhino cow and her hiefer calf shot in Mozambique on Sat on our Northern border of the reserve in the Massintonto River.

We are tired and devastated. What more can we do?See More