John Hume, the South African who bred the world\u2019s biggest rhino herd, has been arrested on charges of smuggling R250 million worth of the endangered animals\u2019 horns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hume, 83, was arrested on Tuesday alongside five other people including former employees at his ranch, a lawyer and the head of a rhino-focused nonprofit, South Africa\u2019s National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were charged with fraud, theft, and contravention of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, with additional charges of racketeering and money laundering under consideration, the country\u2019s environment department said in a separate statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe syndicate is linked to a fraudulent scheme involving 964 rhino horns, worth millions of rands, destined for illegal markets in Southeast Asia,\u201d the environment department said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe suspects allegedly defrauded the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment by securing permits under false pretenses to buy and sell rhino horns domestically, while funneling them into illegal international markets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Southeast Asia ground rhino horn is believed, erroneously, to cure ailments including cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hume, over a period of more than a decade, bred a herd of about 2,000 white rhinos, or an eighth of the global population, at a ranch near Klerksdorp, which lies 155 kilometers south-west of Johannesburg.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He sold the ranch and rhinos to African Parks, a billionaire-backed conservation nonprofit, in 2023 after years of unsuccessfully campaigning for the legalization of international trade in the animals\u2019 horns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He argued that this would cut poaching as rhinos can regrow their horns after having them cut off. While they can be traded within South Africa there is no demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The arrests followed a seven-year investigation by a wildlife trafficking unit of the police. Tammy Hume, Hume\u2019s daughter-in-law and spokeswoman, declined to comment when called by Bloomberg. He was released on R100,000 bail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n