Rhino census: Support needed for worthwhile campaign!

[Dewi]

I take it he wrote that from his centrally heated office?

[Richprins]

Dear members of RhinoDotCom, Kragga Kamma Game Reserve, Rhino News and OSCAP.
SANParks has noted with concern your calls for people to write to the CEO Dr. David Mabunda regarding the rhino poaching issue. The CE has already responded to all the questions that were posed and we fail to see what benefit you will derive from this destructive behaviour. Not really...the question is more directed at requesting a white rhino census, which the "CE" promised to do early last year, and got international funding for...


All of us are concerned and want to ensure the survival of the rhino species; we should be united in fighting the perpetrators of these heinous crimes instead of just encouraging people to clog the emails of people tasked with managing the survival of our natural heritage. What happened to freedom of speech? And who decides who is concerned? Who is "us", by the way?


Can we issue an invitation to all those in air-conditioned offices that are said to be fighting the rhino poaching scourge, to nominate two representatives who will join us as we go into the battle field. This exercise will open their eyes to what SANParks and the SANDF are doing on the ground to drive back the frontiers of this “counter insurgency war”. Don't forget SAPS! It will hopefully turn them into true ambassadors of the battle to save our animals, flora and fauna instead of just being sensationalists.


SANParks and the CEO are not the enemy, we are doing all we can to stop this criminal behaviour, but that seems to be lost to some members of our society What is lost on most people worldwide is how this carnage can continue...who must take responsibility? who are hell-bent on discrediting every effort that is being put in place to overturn the current situation and that is a huge pity. Cheap shots are not helping, let us all be courteous to one another in our differences and not delve into unbecoming behaviour. Don't know who is discourteous?


Majority of South Africans and the global community understand what difficulties we face except for a few who also want to ride on the back of a species that is under a lot of pressure as if they care, when their intentions suggest otherwise. I guess the majority do understand, so a detailed census would help a lot in moving forward!


It is a pity that your organisations have found joy in throwing criticism in our face, but lacks any tangible efforts in saving our bleeding rhino. Yes, organisations wake up every morning thinking of ways to throw criticism in your face... We invite you to give support to our rangers by providing the much needed resource in the fight against gun wielding criminals. Your e-mail flooding crusade, will not save the rhino. We should be like the SANParks Honorary Rangers, the field rangers, SANDF members and all our volunteers who are deep in the trenches and walking the talk. Actually no..."we" recognise the role played by hard-working rangers on the ground very well, as per your excellent media campaign, and support that! Some questions remain regarding others, hence we have taken some other routes regarding financial support, if that's ok?


I thank you
Ike Phaahla
SANParks Media Specialist

my bold

[Bushcraft]

I find the tone of this response from the SANParks media specialist almost condescending.

Am I misinterpreting things

[Flutterby]

Response to SANParks (from OSCAP's FB page)

Dear Mr. Ike Phaahla

We thank you for your public response to our call for an independent census of the rhinos in the Kruger National Park.
We would like to point out the following:
A personal letter was sent to Dr. Mabunda and Mr. Modise on the day we published our public call. This letter stated clearly that the call was not intended as an attack or a criticism on SANParks or the government, but as a plea for unified action and information in this regard. This letter was not acknowledged.

We fear that there has been a misunderstanding of our intentions. If you read our letter again, you will see that it calls for people to join us in our lobbying efforts to obtain information on the accurate numbers of rhinos in the KNP. Our letter does not criticise or undermine the dedicated and tireless efforts of SANParks, the DEA or anyone represented by these bodies. Many of our groups promote and defend the valiant efforts of the people in the front-lines of the poaching war and all of us support and commend them.
Our letter is simply a call for information.
Although we have provided the email addresses of Mr. Modise and Dr. Mabunda in our letter, these addresses are freely available to any member of the public who may wish to use them. However, out of respect to the dedicated efforts of Dr. Mabunda and Mr. Modise, we would be happy to change these addresses, if you will provide us with the correct communication channels for these concerns. We regret any inconvenience caused to Dr. Mabunda and Mr. Modise and reiterate our personal sentiments that this was not our intention.

We appreciate your confidence in the KNP rhino numbers but we are also subjected to a range of rumours and concerns, both from the public sector as well as various insiders of the KNP and esteemed conservation organisations. According to these sources, numbers are not anywhere near the reported ones. We also have a number of official documents where the rhino numbers are contradictory.
We are informally assured that regular censuses are conducted in the KNP and we have heard that the last official census took place in 2010.One was scheduled for 2012 but it was abandoned due to inclement weather and various other factors.
In March 2013, at the high-profile CITES CoP16 in Bangkok, population numbers of rhinos in SA cited to the international community were identical to the numbers for 2010.

We feel that our concerns are extremely valid and that transparency on these rhino numbers are critical, not only for public confidence in our state environmental departments but also for the private rhino owners, some of whom we represent. It stands to reason that their rhinos will become greater targets for poachers as the numbers of rhinos in our national parks decrease. It is crucial that this sector is allowed the opportunity to be pro-active in this regard, instead of being kept in the dark.
We focus specifically on the KNP in our call as it is currently hardest hit by poachers, with 229 (73%) of the 313 rhinos poached in the country this year having been in this reserve.

What we are calling for is verification of the population numbers through an independent organisation and an official and regular statement by our state parks on the health of their rhino populations, particularly in light of the current poaching onslaught and the historical decline of rhino populations throughout the rest of Africa.
To date, we have not managed to secure a satisfactory and official response on the current numbers of rhinos in the KNP.

We are happy to continue responding to your plea for support and help:
The Rhino Friday campaign has been calling for letters of support and encouragement to rangers and troops in the KNP and will continue to do so. They have had an overwhelming and heartening response in this regard. Rhino News defends the principles of conservationists and particularly the efforts of people in the KNP battlefields every day and they will continue to do so. OSCAP has been instrumental in their development of the first "Rhino Ambulance" and they strive to assist private rhino owners with horn treatments, tracker dogs and various other aids to combat the poaching scourge. RhinoDotCom promotes principles of true conservation, biodiversity protection and sustainable utilisation.

Essentially, although we are not all on the front-lines, this war is being fought at many levels and it is imperative that we all support each other in our endeavours. Ultimately, we have the same objective: protection of rhinos and their associated biodiversity.
We're on your side, Mr. Phaahla and it would be good to know that you're on ours.

Although we appreciate your passionate defense of SANParks and we understand your frustration, we would appreciate it if we could agree on a professional departure point, devoid of unnecessary sarcasm, in future correspondence by quoting your own views: Cheap shots are not helping, let us all be courteous to one another in our differences and not delve into unbecoming behaviour.

Regards,

Tanya Jacobsen-RhinoDotCom
Ayesha Cantor- KKGP
Lara Robertson-Rhino News
Allison Thomson-OSCAP

[Richprins]

Well done!

That's a courteous reply, without backing down!!!

[Richprins]

BTW, Africa Wild's letter of support has been sent to the above coalition, as per the Boma discusion!

viewtopic.php?f=170&t=2344

[Mel]

Great response from RhinoDotCom et al.

And also thanks for sending the letter behalf of AW.