Kill a rhino to save a rhino ridiculous By Editor Mon, 4 Novembers Doom 2013 The Villager Barely weeks after 90 elephants were killed with cyanide in Zimbabwe and neighbouring South Africa announced the number of its rhinos killed by poachers had hit a new annual record, Namibia has invited the whole world to see how a black rhino is killed. South Africa is home to almost all of Africa’s 4 800 rhinos, followed by Namibia and as of the end of September, 704 rhinos had been killed by poachers in South Africa, exceeding the annual record of 668 sets in 2012; according to data provided by the Environmental Affairs Ministry last month. The South African government estimates that at the current pace, more than 1000 rhinos could be killed in 2014, putting the species on the brink of a population decline that the ministry has said could lead to the end of wild rhinos in about a decade. The greatest threat to the estimated 22 000 rhinos in South Africa comes from those trying to cash in on the black market value of their horns, which sell at prices higher than gold. Enter Namibia, our Government has allowed an American (Texan) hunting club to raise up to a million dollars for the black rhinoceroses by auctioning off a permit to kill one in Namibia. The Conservation Trust Fund for Namibia’s Black Rhino will receive 100% of the sale price mainly because Namibia has an annual quota to kill up to five black rhinos out of the herd we have. A similar permit issued to a US hunter in 2009, to kill a black rhino fetched US$175 000 (N$1769547.50) for the Namibian Game Products Trust Fund, which pays for conservation efforts. The US says Namibia has determined older black rhino males that have already produced offspring and are in a reproductive decline are the best targets for hunting. If that is the case, why is South Africa worried about one killed rhino? At a time when the world is seeing a concerted effort to preserve the very few black rhinos and other rhinos that are dodging poachers’ bullets and habitat destruction in South Africa, our Government sees it worthwhile to invite Americans to poach, “legally”. Where are the ethics of protecting the endangered species? Two years from now, those poachers from Mozambique who are stealing millions from the South African government will detect a good hunting ground and sell the horn to crime syndicates to feed a rapidly rising demand in Southeast Asia, where the horn is thought, by some, to cure cancer and tame hangovers. Our Government should be ashamed of this. The fact that our rhinos are killed is because there is a market out there. There are people who are coming to steal our heritage and you allow that for a certain class of people? South Africa made the same mistake, now the Kruger National Park is draining the government of millions and has turned rangers into soldiers, using drones to patrol airspace and sending out crack units by helicopter once suspected poachers have been sighted. Is that not what we are inviting? The justification to kill one to save the rest is ridiculous. How come we are prepared to send certain animals to Cuba and other countries but we are not prepared to trade the rhino? Since when is killing justifiable in Namibia? The global rhino population has decreased by 90% since the 1960s and if we don’t actively work to save every one of them, their time is running out. That is why it is totally irresponsible of Government to allow the auctioning of a permit to shoot and kill an endangered Black Rhino. We are calling on the Dallas Safari Club to immediately remove the permit to hunt and kill endangered Black Rhinoceros in Namibia from its fundraising event to “Save the Rhino”. The contradiction of a fundraising event to save these endangered animals by auctioning off the right to kill one could not be clearer. What you’re doing is wrong. Furthermore, Government must take steps to fully illustrate its commitment to save the Black Rhinos by committing to not use this permit to hunt the Rhino, but to publicly commit to never use the permit altogether. Taking a stand to not use the permit would make a much greater impact than auctioning off the right to kill this species. Just like we wrote last week on taking a stand on the rottenness within the Social Security Commission (SSC) board, Government must equally take a stand and pronounce itself on the legality of killing of rhinos.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 13:19:05 +0000
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