Economic development, environment, conservation and tourism MEC Motlalepula Rosho has condemned rhino poaching and appealed to all citizens in the province to rally behind the cause to end the scourge of animal torture.
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So many stories! Here's a quick look at the good, bad, ugly and encouraging RHINO NEWS
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Wildlife Margrit
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Scooped by Wildlife Margrit onto What's Happening to Africa's Rhino? |
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Namibia has created wildlife conservatories that employ local people, pay them to use their land as wildlife reserves, and relies on their eyes and ears on the ground to spot poaching — rehabilitated poachers are now assisting in the fight against poaching...
The figures are a testimony to what works: In 2010, two rhino were poached in Namibia. In South Africa, the figure was 333. In 2011 in Namibia, zero were poached compared to 448 in South Africa. Last year, one rhino was poached in Namibia, while 668 were killed in South Africa.
And up to February 20 this year, no rhinos had been poached in Namibia, while 102 had been poached in South Africa. The total number of rhinos poached between 2006 and 2012 stand at five in Namibia and 1,805 in South Africa....
Wildlife Margrit's insight:
What can SA learn from this? Anyone know more about how Namibia has accomplished this success? Delete the scoop?
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Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa and Mozambican Tourism Minister Carvalho Muaria will take concrete action to combat rhino poaching, her department said on Saturday.
"We had very frank discussions with our counterparts in Mozambique and we are glad that we are moving forward. It is an indication that we can work together to curb this problem of poaching," Molewa said in a statement.
Talks between Molewa and Muaria on Friday focused on joint co-operation between South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe on the matter of cross-border conservation of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA), established in 2002.... Delete the scoop?
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South Africa is assessing the costs Delete the scoop?
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These words are from a poem 11-year-old Aaminah Patel wrote to raise awareness about rhino poaching.
Aaminah, and her eight-year-old sister, Afeefah, were recognised yesterday as Rhino SA "Little Champions" at Robertsham Primary School, south of Johannesburg.
Aaminah said her concern for rhinos started when her father showed her a video.
"I wanted to cry. The rhino's whole face was cut out and it was bleeding to death, struggling to breathe."....
Wildlife Margrit's insight:
Way to go Girls! Delete the scoop?
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Stars including Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Norton created a social media storm to help a British animal conservation charity win a $775,000 (£500,000) grant to stop rhino poaching in Africa. The... Delete the scoop?
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A new weapon in the war against rhino poachers passed a field test in May, 2013, when unmanned aerial vehicles (aka drone) flights successfully protected rhi...
Wildlife Margrit's insight:
The US gets involved with drones/UAVs and saving the rhino from poachers. Delete the scoop?
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Could a Chinese company be making a second attempt at establishing a rhino farm in the country to harvest horn? It would be one way for China to get around the CITES rhino horn ban as domestic trade is not covered by the international agreement.
China has a track record for getting around trade bans of endangered species. The most notable one is the establishment of tiger farms in the country. There are thought to be as many as 5,000 tigers kept in small cages in the country, that’s more than the estimated 3,500 tigers left in the wild....
The illusion of the rhino park of the Mekong Group though may have been shattered a couple of weeks ago with an investigation undertaken by the China News Service and published in Newsweek China. Newsweek China has no connection with the American Newsweek publication and it is run by China’s second largest news agency.
In its report they quote an unnamed source as saying that the Mekong Group has connections with the group behind the Africa View project. It confirms suspicions by many in the country that the safari park is nothing but a front for another rhino farm in China....
Wildlife Margrit's insight:
See this article about the issue too http://annamiticus.com/2013/06/09/strange-twist-in-china-rhino-horn-farming-scheme/ Delete the scoop?
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.... According to world renowned conservationist Dr Ian Player, this “remnant of the dinosaur age” will be wiped out within the next decade if the poaching crisis is not addressed through a collaborative, national and international rescue campaign. Dr Player also pointed out that if it weren’t for the drive to preserve rhinos in the 1950’s, there wouldn’t be any national parks in South Africa. “It is because of the white rhino that we have our national parks where tourists can learn about the soul of Africa. Nature is in our souls....
Wildlife Margrit's insight:
Only wish Dr. Player was not pro trophy hunting and rhino horn trade! Delete the scoop?
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Rhino, elephants, lion and other wildlife is being poached and hunted at alarming rates as the illegal trade becomes more lucrative.
Does the younger generation in South Africa and around the world care if we lose our planet’s iconic species?
We didn’t take a poll or conduct a study, however, a goodly number of those that contact us here at NIKELA are the young. They want to know how they can help stop the poaching because they can’t wrap their brain (or better yet heart) around people who can be so brutal to other living creatures....
http://www.nikela.org/blog/saving-africas-wildlife-do-the-young-care-are-they-aware Delete the scoop?
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Cape Town - South Africa has been introduced to a potential new weapon in its war against rampant rhino poaching: an unmanned drone similar to those used by the US military against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
But unlike the military version that typically unleashes deadly fire on its target, this drone sends only images from its high-resolution cameras, and GPS positions, that can be used by a ground-based anti-poaching unit to home in on suspected poachers.
Last week, the makers of the Falcon drone – more correctly, the unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV – put the machine through its paces for an audience at the OIifants West conservancy that borders the Kruger National Park in Limpopo and that forms part of the unfenced Greater Kruger National Park....
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WASHINGTON _ The exact location of the anti-poaching operation is secret, as is the number of rangers who will be on duty. Also confidential: where the drones will fly as they search out poachers intent on slaying rhinos for their horns _ one killed every 11 hours in South Africa alone. But over the next several days, Tom Snitch thinks that his project, at a private game farm adjoining South Africa’s famed Kruger National Park, will prove that unmanned aerial vehicles can end the scourge of rhinoceros poaching....
http://www.ryot.org/u-s-drones-will-protect-rhinos-by-combating-poachers/180025 
Greer Noble's curator insight,
June 1, 9:08 PM
2013 - 350 rhinos in South Africa butcherd - 1 killed every 11 hours 2012 - 668 endangered rhinos died for their horns 73% worlds rhino in South Africa Sold in Asia, particularly in Vietnam Should WWF not target Vietnam?
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The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) has placed on tender the trophy hunting of two aged male black rhinoceros in eastern Kavango during the current hunting season which ends in November. The hunting on state land began in 2009, after the practice was approved by Cabinet in 2007. This will mark only the second time that black rhino’s will be offered for hunting since the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) approved an annual quota of five rhinos.
In 2012, Cabinet endorsed the killing of the two black rhinos, having already approved three black rhino concessions during the last three hunting seasons.... Delete the scoop?
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Cape Town - The number of rhino poached since the beginning of the year has reached 367, the environmental affairs department said on Thursday. Spokesperson Albi Modise said the majority of these, 247, were killed in the Kruger National Park.
"In the North West province 35 rhino have been poached, 33 in KwaZulu-Natal province, 28 in Limpopo Province, 23 in Mpumalanga province, and one in Gauteng province," he said.
A total of 114 arrests had been made in connection with rhino poaching, of which 109 were alleged poachers.
SA National Parks (SANParks) spokesperson Paul Daphne said the increased number of arrests of suspected poachers in the Kruger was an indication that anti-poaching measures were working.... Delete the scoop?
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Wildlife Margrit's insight:
Our friends from the RAYTONES will be playing at the San Fransico zoo in their continued efforts to help bring awareness to the plight of the rhino in South Africa. Delete the scoop?
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Locally, the call to legalise rhino horn to combat its illicit trade on the black market has been growing over the last few years, but an international NGO is disputing the logic behind such calls....
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said recently in a statement entitled, Greed beats logic: Why a legal rhino trade won’t work, that first and foremost, if trade in rhino horn is legalised, “…it would effectively be legitimising a huge transnational crime, rewarding the kingpins and middle men for their persistence in outlasting the forces of law and order.”... “With a few notable exceptions, it’s fair to say that South Africa has a poor record of enforcing CITES recommendations and protecting its iconic wildlife. Under the guise of legitimate legal hunting, it has recently presided over the farcical and clearly criminal phenomena of ‘pseudo hunting’ in which middlemen arranged permits for Thai bar workers and other individuals to hunt rhino; the resulting ‘trophies’ could then be legally exported, most often to Vietnam.”...
Wildlife Margrit's insight:
Totally agree that legalizing the rhino horn trade is not the answer. The only ones who seem to benefit from such a strategy are the rhino owners. Wrote about this recently http://www.nikela.org/blog/why-legalizing-the-trade-of-rhino-horn-is-only-good-for-their-owners Delete the scoop?
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Rhino poaching is close to resulting in more deaths than calves being born, Braam Malherbe, extreme conservationist has said....
http://www.news24.com/Green/News/More-willing-poachers-than-rhino-20130613 Delete the scoop?
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Drone & New UMD Tech Help Protect Wildlife from PoachersCOLLEGE PARK, MD, Jun 12, 2013 (Menafn - Marketwired via COMTEX) --A series of test flights.
COLLEGE PARK, MD, Jun 12, 2013 (Menafn - Marketwired via COMTEX) --A series of "flawless" test flights have shown that unmanned aerialvehicles, or drones, combined with anti-poaching computer softwarecan successfully protect rhinoceros from poachers in the SouthAfrican bush.
In response to a deadly epidemic of rhino killings, which are beingslaughtered for the ivory in their horns, visiting scholar Tom Snitchof the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies(UMIACS) organized an all-volunteer expedition to conductexperimental anti-poaching surveillance near South Africa's KruegerNational Park. Between May 25 and May 31 the team flew about 20 testflights of an unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone. The UAV, on loanfrom its Denver-based manufacturer Falcon UAV, was equipped with aninfrared night vision camera and guided by a UMD-designed computerprogram that predicts the movements of rhinos and poachers. The testflights went perfectly, Snitch said.... Delete the scoop?
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394 rhinos killed in South Africa to date! - June, 11 2013.
In 2013 rhino poaching in South Africa is running considerably ahead of 2012, which was the worst year on record by far. At that current rate, South Africa can expect to lose more than 900 rhinos this year, with 394 rhinos killed already.
The Kruger National Park continues to be the most seriously affected by rhino poaching, with 257 animals being killed in the Park since the beginning of the year, which has prompted discussion about rebuilding the fence between the Kruger and Mozambique. 425 rhinos were killed in the Kruger National Park in 2012, and many of the poachers arrested in the Kruger Park have crossed from Mozambique, which is a major corridor for rhino poachers.
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Three more suspected rhino poachers have been arrested in the Kruger National Park, bringing the number of arrests so far this year to 53, South African National Parks announced at the weekend. Delete the scoop?
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A suspected rhino poacher was shot dead and another arrested at a game farm in Limpopo, police said on Monday
"A worker, who usually puts out feeding for the rhinos, spotted strange tracks in the Cumberland area on Saturday," said spokeswoman Colonel Ronel Otto.
"Farmers in the area, as well as members of the police and trackers, gathered and started following the tracks of what was suspected to be four poachers."
The tracks were followed for more than 24 hours, and two private helicopters also assisted with the search.
"One of the suspects was spotted sitting under a tree. He attempted to fire at one of the helicopters circling in the area; he also fired shots in the direction of the team tracking him," said Otto.
The man, a Mozambican national, was shot and died on the scene. A Zimbabwean national was also arrested later on the farm.
Police confiscated a hunting rifle and ammunition, as well as an axe. The serial number of the rifle was filed off, and the origin of the weapon is still being investigated, Otto said.
The arrested suspect is expected to appear in the Thabazimbi Magistrate's Court soon to face charges of rhino poaching and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammuniti Delete the scoop?
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Abel Mfana Mashabane, 26, from Phalaborwa, pleaded guilty to trespassing in a designated area after he and his friends were caught walking through the park in May.
He told the court he had been framed by game rangers and that he suspected they had planted a rhino horn in his bag.
During sentencing, Mashabane's lawyer told the court his client's hip was dislocated during his arrest, and that he could not be sent to prison.
"Prison will be worse for him as he has been on crutches since the day of arrest. He has acknowledged the seriousness of the offence he faces, and that rhinos get killed on daily basis," his lawyer said.
Magistrate Sheila Msibi did not find Mashabane guilty of possession of white rhino horn, because neither a carcass nor a killing site was located.
Wildlife Margrit's insight:
Ok, so found in possession of a severed rhino horn isn't enough? A carcass or killing site is required for prosecution? Delete the scoop?
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Poachers have killed 24 of the animals this year in exclusive sanctuaries Delete the scoop?
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A formal memorandum of understanding aimed at controlling biodiversity crimes like rampant rhino poaching is ready for signing between South Africa and Mozambique. But the signing has been delayed over the past 18 months by Mozambique, although South Africa Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said she did not believe there was any sinister motive. It was partly the result of a new minister being appointed there.
Greer Noble's curator insight,
June 1, 8:40 PM
How much time does Mozambique need to get their act together for God's sake? Bill Gates where are you?! How about offering rewards for poachers so that EVERYONE will be out to catch THEM.. for the reward. Poisoning of horn is also good. All we need is a few rhino horn 'consumers' to die and it might just change their rediculous 'superstition'! Edna Molewa should spend every waking moment working on this.. or perhaps some new blood on the job is needed?! Delete the scoop?
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The government is considering building a fence along the Mozambican border to combat rhino poachers, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa says
Greer Noble's curator insight,
June 1, 9:27 PM
Edna Molewa - rather spend the money on DRONES and training and educating locals in the value of eco-tourism. Fences won't stop poachers who are probably 'dropped off' INSIDE the fence by helicopters anyway. And fences don't stop elephant either.. not even electric fencs.. they push them over. All a fence does is to supply material for poachers' snares!!! Delete the scoop?
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Unchecked rhino poaching in South Africa is "tantamount to acts of war" and has escalated "from an environmental issue to one of national security," the Game Rangers' Association of Africa (GRAA) has said.
"Professionally trained and armed militia from Mozambique enter South Africa to plunder the country's natural resources on a daily basis," the GRAA said in a statement available to Xinhua on Wednesday. "These actions are tantamount to acts of war and such actions are putting not only South African citizens at risk but also one of South Africa's economic sectors namely tourism," the group said. It urged the South African government to take a zero tolerance approach to "what amounts to total disrespect of the country's borders".... 
Wildlife Margrit's comment,
June 10, 11:30 AM
Agreed! China exploits then deflects any responsibility for doing so to it's victims.
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