International Opinions about Rhino Poaching in South Africa

Information & discussion on the Rhino Poaching Pandemic
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Sprocky
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Re: Forget cocaine: rhino horn is the new drug

Post by Sprocky »

We need to get the truth out to them, but how?? :-?

They must be educated that the magical powers DO NOT lie in the horn, but in fact in the dung!!! \O We might then have a few hundred Rhino poop collectors wandering around the park keeping the animals alive and well fed! X#X


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Flutterby
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Re: Forget cocaine: rhino horn is the new drug

Post by Flutterby »

No...never had the pleasure!! O-/


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Re: Forget cocaine: rhino horn is the new drug

Post by iNdlovu »

=O: =O:
There is no way to educate that many ignorant people in time to save the Rhino, unfortunately it seems to be a deep seated belief. If we are brutally honest, all the talk of educating the eastern folk, legalising horn trade, setting up DNA databanks, getting a policing format going between SA and the eastern countries organised etc is not going to cut the mustard.
The only way is to protect each and every Rhino 24x7. A massive undertaking no doubt. It has to be non economical to poach a rhino, like do so at the risk of loosing your life. Move all Kruger Rhino into a small tightly controlled area, almost like a POW camp and protect them effectively Ban all Rhino hunting then every horn is an illegal horn with no corruption involved in granting permits etc..
Concrete action has to be taken here, the other stuff is all too long term in getting any success and we don't have the luxury of time.

A Female rhino was taken out a few metres from the Kruger/ Timbivati cut line last night. Timbivati rangers surprised the poachers before they could cut the horns, but the poachers got away. She had a 6 month old calf with her that was not injured, but that causes it's own problems.


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Re: Forget cocaine: rhino horn is the new drug

Post by Sprocky »

Hearing this makes me want to puke!! 0=


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Re: Forget cocaine: rhino horn is the new drug

Post by Flutterby »

iNdy.....that's a great idea about getting all the rhino in one protected area! \O


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Hillary Clinton slams wildlife trafficking

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2012-11-09 17:03

Washington - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a stepped up fight against poaching, warning against criminal gangs seeking to satisfy growing demand for ivory and rhino horn.

"Over the past few years wildlife trafficking has become more organised, more lucrative, more widespread, and more dangerous than ever before," the top US diplomat told a meeting at the State Department.

Despite progress over the past three to four decades to clamp down on poaching, growing wealth meant demand was on the rise again.

"As the middle class grows, which we all welcome and support, in many nations items like ivory or rhinoceros horn become symbols of wealth and social status," Clinton said, urging all governments to join the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking.

"And so the demand for these goods rises. By some estimates, the black market in wildlife is rivalled in size only by trade in illegal arms and drugs.

"Today, ivory sells for nearly $1 000 per pound. Rhino horns are literally worth their weight in gold, $30 000 per pound."

Destination

The rise in trafficking in endangered animal species was also hitting domestic economies where local populations depend on wildlife for tourism, as well as spreading disease and helping to fund rebel militias.

"We all, unfortunately, contribute to the continued demand for illegal animal goods. Wildlife might be targeted and killed across Asia and Africa, but their furs, tusks, bones, and horns are sold all over the world," Clinton stressed.

The US was now the second largest destination for smuggled animal goods, she said, adding "that is something we are going to address".

But Clinton insisted it was "a global challenge that spans continents and crosses oceans, and we need to address it with partnerships that are as robust and far-reaching as the criminal networks we seek to dismantle".

It was one of the messages that she would be taking with US President Barack Obama to the East Asia summit in Cambodia later this month, she said.

Clinton urged the establishment of a global system of regional wildlife enforcement networks, which she was hoping would get off the ground with $100 000 being put up by the US.

Clinton said she was also asking for an intelligence assessment of the impact of large-scale wildlife trafficking on security, saying she had been alarmed by reports from leaders in Africa.

"It is one thing to be worried about the traditional poachers who come in and kill and take a few animals, a few tusks, a few horns, or other animal parts," she said.

"It's something else when you've got helicopters, night vision goggles, automatic weapons, which pose a threat to human life as well as wildlife."

- AFP


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Re: Hillary Clinton slams wildlife trafficking

Post by Amoli »

\O Thumbs up for Hillary and hoping she succeeds on this mission.


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Traffic Report: Dismantling Wildlife Crime

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Traffic Report: DISMANTLING WILDLIFE CRIME

O/ O/ O/ Bleak prospect of the future of endangered species and biodiversity :-(

If wildlife remains relegated to the bottom rung of the crime fighting priority ladder, it is likely that the massive expansion of targeted poaching and trafficking, largely driven by expanding wealth in Asia, is just the start of a new paradigm of devastating criminal exploitation of nature. As the global populace grows and climate change shifts leave people bereft of natural resources and space, it is inevitable that nature and wildlife will be hit hard in the coming decades. Strategies to divert and soften the worst of the blows that are hammering wildlife must be deployed now, urgently, in order to sustain populations, ecosystems, livelihoods and the very fabric of the many societies that rely upon nature. The wakeup call is ringing, and we must listen and react with urgent solutions that are synergistic and sustainable. There is hope that the challenges of wildlife crime can be overcome. We must pursue the opportunities evolving from an increased high level awareness by governments like the US, to collaborate in generating the best thinking, action, and resources we can martial. Failure is unthinkable and too costly for nature to bear.


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Re: Traffic Report: Dismantling Wildlife Crime

Post by Lisbeth »

What was the wording of another article that you posted, Toko?

Is Africa ready? and I add, grown up enough to intervene?


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Poaching to be brought to top-level attention

Post by Toko »

Poaching to be brought to top-level attention

BY SUE BLAINE, 08 MAI 2013, 08:52

RHINO poaching and wildlife trafficking should be brought to the attention of heads of state within entities such as the Group of 20, US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Bob Hormats said on Tuesday.

The US was concerned about the links between international terrorist groups and the syndicates involved in illegal wildlife trade, along with the smuggling of drugs, weapons and humans, said Mr Hormats.

He was speaking in Pretoria at a US-sponsored round-table discussion on international collaboration against wildlife trafficking.

Scientists predict that rhinos will become extinct in the wild within about 30 years if the pace of rhino poaching is not curbed.

Mr Hormats said the US was working on better understanding the way in which the global wildlife black market operated, and "where the money goes". Following the money was the best way of catching the criminals,

Mr Hormats also said combating wildlife crime was "top priority" for his office. While he was aware that international treaties were often toothless in the face of organised crime, he suggested that even the United Nations might be able to help "if discussion moves to action".

The illegal ivory trade has been linked to terrorist organisations, and to rebel groups and governments in parts of Africa eager for funding for insurgencies, civil wars and internecine conflict.

Investigative reporter and author Julian Rademeyer, who moderated the discussion, said his most recent research indicated that a number of key rhino horn crime syndicates — primarily Vietnamese — are now setting up base in Mozambique or have set up base there. This was because it is a lot easier for them to operate there and get the horns out of the country. Corruption is rife and the police make very little if any effort to stop them.

Mozambique has been widely criticised, notably at the most recent meeting of the parties to the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) this March, for its poor enforcement of Cites rules, its porous borders, and its apparent reluctance to take the escalation of rhino poaching seriously. There are rumours that the country’s last rhino was recently killed.

Mr Hormats said that wildlife trafficking had "economic and political ramifications" and that states that were "blasé" about it should be made to realise those involved were often "out to destabilise their country".

Department of Environmental Affairs biodiversity head Fundisile Mketeni said the "action plan" South Africa signed with Vietnam on Monday was worthwhile in that it could be used to hold the Southeast Asian country to account.


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