Counter Poaching Efforts

[Lisbeth]

That will certainly help

[Richprins]

[Klipspringer]

Durban plans to infuse rhino horns with poison

2014-04-03 08:33

Cape Town – Authorities at the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Wildlife Park are planning to inject the horns of their rhino with poison in an effort to stem poaching at the reserve.

This project is based on similar initiatives that were done at the Tembe Elephant Park in 2013, where not a single rhino was killed due to the tainting of the horns.

According to I O L within the last two weeks KwaZulu Natal has experienced a large amount of rhino poaching, as syndicates have increased the price they pay to their shooters from R80 000 to R200 000.

In KZN alone 19 rhino have been poached, in the Kruger park a further 150 rhino have been killed just this year.

According to Bandile Mkhize, an executive at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, since the poison was infused into the horns of rhino at the Tembe Elephant Park not a single rhino had died or been poached.

Because of this new deterrent poachers according to Mkhize are now moving south and are targeting rhino in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, rhino in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park are also under fire.

Authorities are making a huge effort to devalue rhino horn, said Mkhize.

Currently a cocktail that contains chemical and nuclear poisons that will be infused into the horn is being researched and according to Cedric Coetzee, the chief of the Ezemvelo anti-poaching sector, it is in the final stage of analysis.

Poaching had decreased for a bit but with a new cash injection by syndicates the illegal activity has sky rocketed, said Coetzee

- News24

This is the first time I have seen the effect of this:


http://dtinews.vn/en/news/017/63403/hcm ... power.html

HCM City little boy poisoned after drinking rhino horn power
By Van Son | dtinews.vn | July 31, 2019 08:24 PM


A 22-month old boy in HCM City suffered poisoning after being given rhino horn powder to reduce his fever.
The boy in Cu Chi District was taken to the Intensive Care and Poisoning Control Ward of Children’s Hospital No. 2 recently in the state of high fever and cyanosis.


According to Dr. Huynh Thi Anh Tuyet, tests showed that he had the high content of Methemoglobin, which is around 30 times higher than permitted.

The boy’s symptoms occurred a short time after his parents gave him some rhino horn power to drink to ease his fever. The rhino horn was presented by the family’s friend.

Doctors said that the high Methemoglobin content was the result of drinking the power.

Following five-days intensive treatment using a ventilator and dialysis, the patient’s health has improved and he has been moved to the Internal Medicine Ward for further treatment.

Nguyen Van Loc, head of the hospital’s Poison Control Ward said that to date, there have not yet any scientific evidence to suggest that rhino horn can be useful for fever or any other diseases.

Methemoglobin disorder can cause people to lose consciousness or even pose the risk of death, Loc noted.

[Lisbeth]

Excellent! (Stupid parents Luckily the boy will recover. )

Maybe now the voice will circlulate and people will get afraid of rhino horn powder

[Richprins]

I would be cautious of this for new, as it may be fake news. But even if so, it should have the desired effect!

[Lisbeth]

[Flutterby]

I hope this isn't fake news and it's featured on every news show in the east!

[Lisbeth]

New aviation headsets to aid in the poaching fight

July 29, 2019


Bose's Garmir Decosta with SANPark's pilot Jaco Mol during the handover.

SANParks recently received a donation of 34 Bose A20 aviation headsets from Bose Aviation and Century Avionics for use by both fixed wing and helicopter pilots operating in the Kruger National Park (KNP).

The donation will assist in improving communication between aviators and ground crews during conservation as well as anti-poaching operations. The donation is seen as a crucial tool to both ground and flying crews and was warmly accepted by the KNP management.



Speaking on behalf of Century Avionics, Clinton Farla expressed how proud they were to be able to lend a hand in the fight against poaching and in support of conservation in the KNP. He further explained that the headsets have a five-year warranty. “We are pleased to hand them over to a unit that will utilise them to their fullest capacity and save our species for future generations,” concluded Farla.

His words were echoed by Garmir da Costa from Bose Aviation, who emphasised that the quality of the headsets will make the job a lot easier for the pilots on duty. “The headsets are extremely comfortable and the quality of sound is very clear, which makes it easier for the pilots and passengers to communicate while carrying out their duties,” he said.

[Lisbeth]

Southern African journos attend wildlife reporting workshop

In a bid to enable the media to help in anti-poaching efforts, a three-day training workshop on wildlife poaching and trafficking reporting was offered at the Southern African Wildlife College.

July 31, 2019 | Mariana Balt Editor

The Kruger National Park has in recent years sadly become almost synonymous with the issues of poaching and the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) in local news reports.

In a bid to enable the media to help in anti-poaching efforts, a three-day training workshop on wildlife poaching and trafficking reporting was offered at the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) near Orpen Gate last week.

It was attended by journalists who report on these issues from countries in southern Africa and was offered by the Africa-China Reporting Project at Wits Journalism, and partners Khetha (WWF) and VukaNow (USAID).

The workshop focused on community engagement and impactful reporting, and provided training on investigative reporting techniques, the trafficking supply chain to and demand in Asia, and innovative methods for community and public engagement in understanding and fighting wildlife poaching and trafficking.

After a summary on the content and manner media in general report on IWT by Christel Antonites of the Digital Media Research Centre, media guru Prof Ian Glenn made the journalists think about possible pitfalls in the way messages are conveyed through their reporting on the issue.

Challenges in reporting on environmental issues and IWT were addressed by WWF media manager Andrea Weiss. Huang Hongxiang, the founder of China House, shed more light on the receiving end in the market for IWT. He is dedicated to building a bridge of communication between China and Africa.

Previous programme manager of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Mozambique, Alastair Nelson, supplied more information on how inequality and mismatching in communities may drive them to participate in these illegal actions. Dr Jo Shaw, a senior manager of WWF South Africa, echoed the warning that mere awareness messages do not necessarily change the behaviour of audiences.

Tom Milliken, who monitors the illegal rhino horn trade for an organisation called Traffic, focused on the shift in the end use markets from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to China, Thailand and Vietnam.

Perspectives on preservation versus conservation were given by KNP section ranger Richard Sowry, and Nelisiwe Vundla, a WWF community projects officer, spoke about the impact of IWT on local communities, after which the group also paid a courtesy visit to a local chief of the Mnisi Tribal Authority in the Hluvukani Village of the Welverdiend community.

The workshop was concluded with the technical skills development of journalists. It was addressed by investigative journalist Estacio Valoi from Mozambique, Alastair Otter of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, who instructed about online and digital tools in the use of open source intelligence, Desmond Latham of Frayintermedia on good story reporting and Elna de Beer of SAWC on ethics.


Journalists visit the Mnisi Tribal Authority in Hluvukani Village.

[Peter Betts]

Good ol Richard Sowry ..Ranger at Kingfisherspruit ..one of THE best