Africa Wild

2013-10-14 09:30

Estelle Sinkins

Durban - Two alleged poachers were arrested by security staff at the privately owned Thula Thula in Zululand in the early hours of Friday morning.

It is believed that the men could have been after the private game reserve's hand-reared rhino, Thabo and Ntombi.

The two young orphans were relocated to Thula Thula from Moholoholo Rehab Centre in Limpopo in 2009 when they were four and eight months old.

Thabo and Ntombi are now guarded by security staff 24 hours a day.

Françoise Malby Anthony, widow of conservationist Lawrence Anthony, and managing director of Thula Thula, confirmed to The Witness that security staff had caught the men.

They were reportedly armed with homemade rifles and an axe. The men were taken to the Ntambanana police station where a case was opened. A third man escaped.

The news, which was posted on Thula Thula's Facebook site, was welcomed by supporters, including Moira Easterbrook who said: "Good news. All animals are vulnerable and mostly helpless in the face of humans with weapons. Who wants to live in a world without animals? I certainly do not; we need to protect them from these poachers and trophy-seeking hunters."

The Thula Thula Game Reserve is a 4?500ha private game reserve.

To fight against rhino poaching and assist with the protection and preservation of Thula Thula's rhinos, Anthony established the Thula Thula Rhino Fund - a chapter of Lawrence Anthony Earth Organisation - to raise funds to train guards and buy much-needed specialised equipment.

- The Witness

New Campaign Urges Chinese to Protect the ‘Pandas’ of Africa

Aisling Maria Cronin

October 31, 2013

New Poster Campaign Urges China to Pay Attention to the Plight of African Poaching Victims



A new public service print campaign, ‘Protect the Pandas of Africa,’ has just been launched in China. The posters – designed by the well-known artist and conservationist Asher Jay – aim to raise public awareness of the illicit elephant, panda and rhino poaching industry, while also promoting WildAid’s larger “Say No to Ivory and Rhino Horn” campaign.

In a statement released to the wildlife conservation website MongaBay.com, Peter Knights, the executive director of WildAid, says, “These new works aim to enhance China’s current conservation efforts, shining a light on their accomplishments while asking them to broaden the impact of their kindness.”

Jay adds, “By transforming consumers into conservationists, we can directly impact the future of Africa’s rhinos and elephants. Cultural change is a contagious phenomenon, and comes with a tipping point – it starts with a few, gets adopted by many, and is then condemned by all.”

We have previously reported on the tragic consequences of elephant poaching in Zimbabwe, and the impact that these activities have on the animal victims is plain for all to see. But another chilling fact about the poaching industry – that is not widely known by the public – is its links to terror groups such as Al-Shabaab, who were responsible for the recent attack on the Westgate Shopping mall in Nairobi.

The Independent has recently reported that the illegal ivory trade is helping to fund the activities of the Al-Shabaab, and The Elephant Action League (EAL) have gone so far as to describe ivory as the “white gold of jihad.” Andrea Crosta, an EAL director, states that the illegal trade “funds up to 40 percent of of the cost [of Al-Shabaab's] army of 5,000 people.”

No doubt about it: any campaign which serves to draw the world’s attention to this urgent issue deserves the highest praise.

Tanzania seizes 706 elephant tusks
2013-11-04 12:03




Dar es Salaam - A Tanzanian minister under fire for a controversial suspended anti-poaching operation has praised police for their seizure of a huge haul of 706 elephant tusks.

"It means 353 elephants were killed to get all those tusks," Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Khamis Kagasheki told AFP, calling the seizure a "quite a big amount".

In the past two months, police and wildlife officers have cracked down on suspected poachers amid a surge of killings of elephant and rhino in the east African nation, in a campaign dubbed "Operation Tokomeza" or "Operation Terminate" which reportedly had a shoot-to-kill policy and allowed sweeping arrests.

But parliament on Friday suspended the campaign to allow investigation of reported seizure of property, torture and killing of suspects.

Kagasheki however defended the campaign, saying the seizure of such large amounts of ivory was a sign of its success.

"I admit that there is an ugly side in the operation, but what is happening now in arresting culprits and impounding tusks is part of the success of the operation," he said, refusing to step down over the conduct of the campaign.

Boom in poaching

Shortly after the campaign's launch Kagasheki was widely quoted in Tanzanian media as saying that "rangers are allowed to shoot to kill poachers".

Speaker of Parliament Anne Makinda told AFP Saturday the campaign had been suspended "indefinitely" and that a probe into its conduct would be launched this week.

Kagasheki said the ivory was seized on Saturday in Dar es Salaam from the house of three Chinese traders, who reportedly imported garlic from China and exported marine products from Tanzania.

He named the traders as Xu Fujie, Chen Jinzha and Huang Quin.

Kagasheki also praised police officers who reportedly turned down an $18 750 bribe to let them go free.

Poaching has risen sharply in Africa in recent years. Besides targeting rhinos, whole herds of elephants have been massacred for their ivory.

Tourism is a key foreign currency earner for Tanzania, especially wildlife safaris to its world-famous parks that include the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater.

The lucrative Asian black market for rhino horn has driven a boom in poaching across Africa.

Asian consumers falsely believe the horns, which have the same composition as fingernails, have powerful healing properties.

- AFP


http://www.news24.com/Green/News/Tanzan ... s-20131104

Note the Chinese connection again...

But more importantly:

"I admit that there is an ugly side in the operation, but what is happening now in arresting culprits and impounding tusks is part of the success of the operation," he said, refusing to step down over the conduct of the campaign."

Kagasheki also praised police officers who reportedly turned down an $18 750 bribe to let them go free.


Tourism is a key foreign currency earner for Tanzania, especially wildlife safaris to its world-famous parks that include the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater.

These guys understand!

Amidst the growing concerns surrounding fundraising schemes exploiting the current heightened rhino awareness, the Adopt So Our Rhinos Don't Die campaign is the first to bear the official SANParks Fundraising Seal, which ensures peace-of-mind that all funding will go directly to rhino anti-poaching activities.
This campaign was made possible by the announcement of a historical joint collaboration between South African National Parks (SANParks), Bavaria 0.0% and South Africa's Big 5 Retailers - Woolworths, Spar, Shoprite Checkers, Massmart and Pick 'n Pay.

"As the custodian and sanctuary for the majority of Africa's rhino population, and 91% of the world rhino population, it is distressing to report that with the exception for the Honorary Rangers' initiatives during 2012, SANParks has not received a cent from independent rhino fund-raisers this year. We are in a crisis situation that requires funding for expert human and technical resources," SANParks CEO, Dr David Mabunda, said.

RMB manages fund

"This historical joint collaboration brings hope to the crisis. All money will be held in a ring-fenced trust fund that is managed by Rand Merchant Bank under the audit of the National Treasury. The trust fund will also be made available to any rhino conservancy that applies for assistance to ensure that we are able to help as many rhino as possible," Mabunda said.

Bavaria 0.0% is more than just a brewery and has shown its commitment to ensuring that the rhino is preserved for future generations by being the enabler of the Adopt So Our Rhinos Don't Die campaign. This decision falls directly in line with Bavaria's intrinsic value of 0.0% tolerance to rhino poaching, the illegal killing of any wildlife or humankind and to drinking and driving.

Keep identity and pride

"The plight of the rhino really touched me. This is about keeping your identity and national pride alive," said Stijn Swinkels, family board member of Bavaria Brewery. "It is about future existence. If we can deploy something as simple as our product's reach and accessibility to make people stop and think about this, then I want to stand up for that."

Bavaria 0.0% has extended the reach of the campaign into South Africa's Big 5 leading retail chains and as front-runners to the consumer, each retailer will create the adoption 'route' for the public. From every purchase of any six-pack of Bavaria regular or fruit flavoured malt drinks, both the Big 5 Retailers and Bavaria will match a massive margin sacrifice to fund the consumer's adoption certificate cost and this money will go directly into the SANParks ring-fenced rhino fund.

Swinkels adds, "We were so touched by the rhino plight, that the cause became greater than our risk to enter a new market and sacrifice our profit margin. We would like to thank the Big 5 Retailers for joining us in this collaboration in aid of the rhino, who is the real hero."

Easy, fun and safe

Ivan Oertle, Woolworths specialist buyer, commented: "We at Woolworths have always believed in doing the right thing and in this case it is collaborating with Bavaria, SANParks and our competitors to bring hope to the world's last remaining wild rhino population. Never before has saving the rhino been done in a way that is so easy, such fun and so safe."

"I would like to applaud SANParks, Dr David Mabunda and of course Bavaria 0.0% for what is undoubtedly and hopefully an initiative which will go a long way in protecting one of our country's very rare and threatened assets and a part of our heritage," Mark Robinson, group liquor manager at Spar said. "Hopefully this will make a meaningful contribution to the protection of our rhino and we thank you for including us in this initiative."

"This is a fantastic initiative by Bavaria 0.0%. We are pleased to join other retailers in assisting SANParks to make a difference in the fight against rhino poaching," added Jonathan Koff, Makro liquor executive at Massmart.

http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196 ... .html#more

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and the University of Pretoria's Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL), in collaboration with the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), hosted a rhinoceros DNA sampling workshop at the Southern African Wildlife College near Hoedspruit in Limpopo, which included field training in the Kruger National Park.

© E.O. - Fotolia.com

The purpose of the workshop was to enhance the world's enforcement capacity to address the wave of rhinoceros poaching that has resulted in the killing of 825 animals in South Africa since January 2013. Law enforcement officers from each of the 11 African rhinoceros range states, as well as from China, Thailand and Vietnam, and South African National Parks, participated in the workshop.

The capacity of law enforcement officers working along national borders, at border posts and in protected areas to detect, investigate and prosecute offenders involved in rhinoceros poaching and illegal rhinoceros horn trade has been boosted through a series of lectures and field visits to the Kruger National Park to partake in the physical DNA sampling of rhino that had been poached within the park. Special focus was given to the increased use of rhinoceros horn DNA sampling to combat wildlife crime.

Better equipped

Law enforcement officers will emerge from the DNA training better equipped with the necessary tools and knowledge to enable them to effectively counter illegal wildlife trade. This includes specific investigative techniques and the increased use of wildlife forensics, which can be applied during follow-up actions that should be taken when seizures are made, crime scenes are investigated, information is being gathered or evidence is being presented to court.

The officials have been provided with focused training on the identification of rhinoceros horn, rhinoceros horn DNA sampling and wildlife crime scene investigation. Participants have also been educated in the utilisation of ICCWC tools and services to enhance their wildlife crime investigation capabilities.

In collaboration with its ICCWC partners, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) commissioned the development of the ICCWC Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit, which provides countries with a technical resource that enables them to undertake a national assessment with the aim to understand the main issues relating to wildlife and forest offences, and identify technical assistance needs.

Test results often critical

"We are supporting countries deploy the technologies and techniques they need to fight back against escalating wildlife crime," said CITES secretary-general John E. Scanlon. "Drawing on South Africa's expertise, we are expanding the use of forensic technologies, with DNA test results often being critical for securing successful prosecutions. These collaborative efforts directly respond to the decisive actions taken by CITES Parties earlier this year to better combat wildlife crime."

The recently developed eRhODIS application was also introduced and launched during the workshop with Samsung as the exclusive technology partner. This application provides the information technology backbone to support RhODIS.

The number of rhino poached in South Africa for their horn since January 2013 has increased to 825. The Kruger National Park continues to bear the brunt of rhino poaching, with 500 rhino being killed by poachers. A total of 87 rhino have been poached in Limpopo, 77 in North West, 74 in Mpumalanga and 73 in KwaZulu-Natal. The number of alleged poachers arrested has increased to 272.

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US slaps a R10m bounty on poachers

November 14 2013 at 03:30pm
By Murray Williams and Sapa-AFP

Cape Town - The US government has offered a R10 million reward for information to smash a Far East-based poaching network which is slaughtering endangered elephants and rhinos.

The US government’s aggressive stance was welcomed today by SANParks, whose spokesman, Ike Phaahla, said: “It’s about time that the entire world got together to fight this criminality around wildlife trade – it affects the ecology and our children’s future. It needs to be dealt with head-on, so we would welcome this wholeheartedly.”

The reward, the first of its kind by the State Department, was announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday, who warned that poaching “destabilises communities that depend on wildlife for biodiversity and ecotourism” – in which South Africa has a huge investment.

He said the Xaysavang network operated from Laos and operated between South Africa, Mozambique, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and China.

“The involvement of sophisticated transnational criminal organisations in wildlife trafficking perpetuates corruption, and threatens the rule of law and border security in fragile regions,” Kerry said.

Police in Zanzibar seized a 12m container yesterday hiding an estimated several tons’ worth of ivory.

Rhino poaching between 2008 and this year cost South Africa’s economy R1.1 billion, the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (Phasa) said at the Biodiversity Economy Indaba in Polokwane yesterday.

Phasa chief executive Adri Kitshoff said about 400 000ha of game land had been lost to wildlife conservation because of the risks of keeping rhino and the expensive security measures needed to protect them.

“Poaching is proving to be a disincentive to owning rhino.”

South African and foreign hunters contributed about R6.6bn a year to the economy, but this figure was understated given the out-of-date statistics.

“There is a study under way at North West University to ascertain the exact number of foreign hunters who come to South Africa, as well as the economic contribution of the industry as a whole.”

South Africa has about 80 percent of the world’s rhino population, estimated to be more than 25 000.

Last week, the Department of Environmental Affairs announced that 825 rhinos had been poached in South Africa since January, of which about 500 were in the Kruger National Park.



The department held the first training workshop focusing on the use of forensics to end rhino poaching.

View here for info on poisoning horns pilot study by Ezemvelo

Poisoning Rhino Horn – ethically defendable, but legally questionable?

The decimation of South Africa’s rhino population is undoubtedly one of the most emotive issues of current times. This is according to Helen Dagut, Consultant in the Environmental Practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr business law firm. She says that few people are unmoved by images of stricken animals with gaping, bleeding holes in their heads, as the ‘death toll’ rises steadily to feed the increasing demand for rhino horn predominantly by markets in the East.
“It is unsurprising, then, that extreme measures are being suggested and implemented in an attempt to bring the rampant poaching to an end,” she explains
Dagut says one of these measures is the poisoning of the horns of live rhinos. In a pilot study initiated by Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife in September 2013, a chemical cocktail is being injected into the horns of several rhino which live in the high-risk Tembe Elephant Park and Ndumo Game Reserve on the border with Mozambique, with the purpose of contaminating the horn.
The poison is described as “extremely toxic” to humans and known to cause symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea and neurological disorders, but is not apparently intended to kill people who ingest it. A bright red dye injected with the poison can be picked up on airport scanners and marks the horn as illegally obtained and toxic. It is hoped that potential consumers will be deterred by the threat of serious illness. The effectiveness of the measure as a deterrent is still to be assessed, but conservationists have hope that the poisoning, coupled with awareness campaigns aimed at poachers and consumers, will go some way to reducing demand. Although extreme, poisoning of horns is viewed by many as ethically justifiable in the context of the rhino “massacre”. Questions have been raised, however, around its legality.
“A person who is aware that the substance added to rhino horn is poisonous and who foresees the possibility that someone might consume it and suffer harm could face charges of assault or even murder if someone is eventually poisoned. Significantly, the poison need not necessarily have been administered with the intent to kill or harm anyone and need not have resulted in death or harm, for the crime to have been committed. In infusing rhino horns with poison knowing that the poison could cause harm or even death to consumers of the horn, even if no consumers are actually harmed, there is at the very least the possibility of charges for attempted assault or even attempted murder,” she explains.
Dagut notes that where harm to, or death of, a poacher or consumer occurred in South Africa as a result of a poisoned horn, the party which administered the poison could be prosecuted in the South African courts. However injury or death attributable to a poisoning that occurred outside of South Africa, would probably be subject to the extradition arrangements between South Africa and the state in which the poisoning occurred.
When asked about the questionable legality of horn poisoning, the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Environmental Affairs has been quoted as saying that the “real criminals” are not the poisoners, and “let us arrest and deal with the poachers instead”.
“Given Government and society’s recognition of the value of rhinos and efforts to curb what is viewed as a poaching epidemic, it seems unlikely that prosecutions for the crime of poisoning of rhino horn will be a priority of the State,” Dagut adds.
ends
This year, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr made a sizeable contribution to the Rhino Action Group Effort (RAGE) to help them in the fight against illegal rhino poaching.

Rhino horn project bears fruit

Nov 13 2013 7:39AM

CANAAN MDLETSHE

The rhino horn infusion pilot project, an initiative to curb rhino poaching, is already bearing results, according to KZN Ezemvelo.

In the two months since the project was launched no rhinos have been poached in the Tembe national park and the Ndumo game reserve on the KwaZulu-Natal far north.

The initiative sees the rhino horns injected with a poisonous chemical that activates when a rhino is poached.

Ezemvelo spokesperson Musa Mntambo said the project still had its challenges.

“This is not only done by us, Ezemvelo, there are other vets from other organisations. So we have to bring them together and work together. And it’s also very costly because for each rhino it costs R8000 to infuse,” he said.

KwaZulu-Natal has lost 75 rhinos to poaching since the beginning of the year. Last week a poacher was shot in a foiled poaching as security has been increased at game reserves.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the use of rhino horn has been identified as a symbol of status among wealthy urban Vietnamese, which is a major driver of the rhino poaching crisis.

Findings from consumer researchconcluded this year in Vietnam concluded that the emergence of a middle class with disposable incomes was pressuring African rhino populations.

This research surveyed 720 people in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It found that the buyers of rhino horn primarily consider it a status symbol, often used as a gift to family, business colleagues or people in positions of authority. They also associate it with a feeling of “peace of mind”.

“Rhino horn consumers are wealthy and powerful and as such are seen as influential people within Vietnamese society,” said Jo Shaw, WWF-SA’s Rhino Co-ordinator.

She added that while their reasons for purchasing and consuming rhino horn were linked to an underlying belief in its medicinal properties, there was a current trend of use to enhance social standing.

“Research revealed that typical users of rhino horn are successful, well educated men over the age of 40 who live in Vietnam’s main urban centres. They value their luxury lifestyle, which is often based around meeting peer group pressures and tend to view animals as commodities to serve functional and income-generating purposes rather than feeling an emotional connection,” Shaw added.

canaanm@thenewage.co.za

2013-11-16 11:33

Johannesburg - The Asset Forfeiture Unit has handed R8.1m to SANParks's environmental crime investigation unit (ECIU), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Friday.

"The money will be solely directed by SANParks to enhance and support their ranger corps capabilities with much needed equipment, training and advanced technology for their counter-poaching operations," said spokesperson Nathi Mncube.

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria found that the money came from the proceeds of illegal rhino poaching by an alleged syndicate leader, Joseph Nyalunga, Mncube said.

Nyalunga was also a former police official stationed at the Hazyview police station.

The cash was seized in December 2011 when Nyalunga and another alleged poacher, Conrad Nkuna, were arrested while returning from Mpumalanga to Gauteng.

The money was found in their Range Rover when they were stopped and searched by police near Middelburg.

Exhibits from the Range Rover were also seized and were sent for DNA analysis.

"The DNA profile of one male white rhinoceros found in the Range Rover matched the DNA profile of a male white rhinoceros poached in the Kruger National Park in December 2011 in the Stolsnek area," said Mncube.

Apart from the R8.1m, the 2009 Range Rover and a 2009 Toyota Fortuner were also seized.

"These vehicles will be sold and the proceeds thereof will also be paid to the ECIU," he said.

Nyalunga was arrested again in early 2012.

Following his arrest, a further R5 069 800 was found in a metal coffer in the garage at his Mkhuhlu's residence.

The case against Nyalunga and Nkuna has been postponed for trial until 24 March next year in the Middelburg regional court.

- SAPA