Private owners of rhino in South Africa are fighting their own war against poaching, says game-farm owner, Ms Sylvia Fick, who recently lost four rhino to poachers. “We receive no help from the government and live in constant fear,” she stated.
Fick recounted how they had accumulated rhino for their game farm in Limpopo and how excited they had been with the increase in numbers during the past three years. Their joy was, however, ruined upon the discovery of four carcasses in April. A fifth cow, mother to a calf of three months, was severely injured and is currently being treated in an effort to save her or at least give the little one more time to suckle. “We were devastated, especially because all our rhino had been dehorned in the past year.” The bit of horn that had remained was apparently hacked off with an axe.
A calf of about two months old was found at the body of its dead mother. It was taken in by Care for Wild Africa in Mpumalanga. The farm immediately requested that all their remaining rhino be dehorned, despite being warned by other private owners that it could lead to another attack due to corruption and collusion within the ranks of the parks board. “We don’t know what to do anymore, someone warned us not to let the police onto the farm because they also provide information to syndicates,” an exasperated Fick admitted.
According to Ms Kholofelo Nkambule of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) the same is not the case in this province and the MTPA attempts to give assistance to private owners where mandated to do so.
It also upset Fick that millions of rand were being raised by NGOs for saving the species, yet, they as private owners needed to find money in order to secure their animals. They are, like several other game-farm owners they know, considering selling their remaining rhino. “We would need to erect a double fence around the whole property, employ more armed guards and set-up look-out points – things we simply can’t afford at this time!”
It is estimated that 20 per cent to 25 per cent of all rhino in the country are privately owned.
Rhino security is indeed a big problem, concurred Mr Pelham Jones, chairman of the Private Rhino Owners Association (PROA) of South Africa. This is the only entity of its kind in the country. Established in 2009, it also acts as a specialist group within the larger framework of Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA). According to Jones, PROA represents the majority of private rhino owners in the country.
He conducted a study in 2013 among members that calculated the cost per hectare per year of safe keeping privately owned rhino. “Our members spent roughly R262 million a year on security,” he told Lowvelder.
His statistics show that 717 of those belonging to PROA members were poached in 2013. And, Jones added, they are frustrated at the low level of support for private owners from the government. He also stated that there existed a “mixed” quality of service from law enforcement in the matter. “We are frustrated at the slow turnaround time by the Hawks.”
According to Fick, the organised-crime specialist who attended the scene of the crime on their farm merely wandered around the carcasses, before saying that they would return in three weeks to try and find the bullet casings.
Lowvelder asked for comment from the Hawks regarding the number of cases currently being investigated, particularly in terms of the number of criminals, apart from poachers, being investigated. It also asked whether detectives underwent any special training to deal with this specialised, highly syndicated crime and whether a budget had been allocated specifically for these investigations. Hawks spokesman, Capt Paul Ramaloko had not responded to the query.
Meanwhile, owners like Fick said that their situation was heartbreaking. “Should we stand fast and hope for change, or do we sell our rhino?” she asked. She had estimated the cost of added security for their rhino at R2 million, which would still not be enough to guarantee their safety. “Rhino in this country will go extinct because the system is not working,” she concluded. “Maybe I must start a Facebook page and ask for overseas funds, I really don’t know what to do.”
According to a recent report by Rynette Coetzeeof the Endangered Wildlife Trust and environmental crime prosecutor, Phil Snijman, entitled The status quo of compliance monitoring and enforcement of biodiversity and conservation legislation in South Africa, conflicting and confusing regulations hamper compliance monitoring and law enforcement in South Africa. “They create problems and loopholes and this affects enforcement and compliance efficiency,” says Coetzee. While investigating for their report, Coetzee also found that wildlife crime dockets opened by EMIs are often put at the ‘bottom of the pile’ because police are inundated with what is perceived as more serious criminal cases. At a recent conference in Onderstespoort, organised by the NGO Outraged Citizens Against Poaching (or OSCAP), advocate Antoinette Ferreira from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) indicated that the NPA have had convictions in almost all rhino cases driven through court., however detection rates of this crime stood at 3%. The conviction rate of poaching crimes was 85%. Most of these, however, were of poachers. Ferreira also mentioned that the SAPS had resolved to appoint specialist investigators to deal with endangered species crimes.
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