South Africa had lost more than R1.3bn to rhino poaching since 2008, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
EWT project manager Kirsty Brebner said around 3 800 rhino had been poached in the last seven years. The sale value of a single living rhino was about R350 000.<\/p>\n
She was speaking at a conference on poaching held at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
Brebner said the money the country had lost to poaching excluded that of funds invested in the security and protection of the endangered species.<\/p>\n
Brebner said the EWT had embarked on intensified programmes to protect approximately 25 000 surviving black and white rhino around the country.<\/p>\n
Listed in their efforts to curb poaching and punish offenders, Brebner said the EWT had placed three tracker and sniffer dogs in reserves.<\/p>\n
The dogs were able to detect horns, ivory, rifles and ammunition in cars.<\/p>\n
The conservation group had also given awareness campaigns and training to magistrate’s and public prosecutors who handled cases against poachers and horn smugglers.<\/p>\n
They also educated border patrol officials, churches and schools on rhino poaching.<\/p>\n
Brebner said the official figures on rhino poaching for the first quarter of 2015 were not available as officials had stopped issuing statements on a regular basis.<\/p>\n
“I am not sure why this has happened,” she said.<\/p>\n
Spokesperson for the department of environmental affairs, Albi Modise told News24 that the department had not been issuing statements as regularly as before.<\/p>\n
The department compiled reports from figures it received around the country and was a lengthy process, Modise added.<\/p>\n
The department was expected to release the latest figures during a media briefing on Friday.<\/p>\n
South Africa was not the only country that had poaching challenges.<\/p>\n
China had widely used horn to treat several diseases and illnesses.<\/p>\n
“In Yemen, the rhino horn was traditionally used to make dagger handles,” Brebner said.<\/p>\n
Education programs on poaching and the endangered rhino had changed this and other materials were now being used.<\/p>\n
Rhino horn had also become “the ultimate symbol of wealth and status” in Yemen.<\/p>\n
“The rhino horn has become prized than golden records, watches etc,” she said.<\/p>\n
An urban legend in Yemen also said a politician was completely healed of cancer by using rhino horn as medication.<\/p>\n
“A lot of ailing people are holding onto this phenomenon,” she said.<\/p>\n
New uses for the rhino horn continued to emerge across the world.<\/p>\n
This included the horn being crushed and used as an aphrodisiac enhancing substance.<\/p>\n
The drug was also used as a “hangover” remedy.<\/p>\n
In South Africa, the killing of rhino horn resulted in loss of life for both rangers and poachers.<\/p>\n
Brebner said there was not a single solution to remedy poaching but multiple conservation points needed to be put in place.<\/p>\n
“We need to elevate the risk of trade,” she said, adding that identifying gaps within the poaching chain was also a necessity.<\/p>\n
Communities needed to also work with authorities as they were usually the first to know when poachers infiltrated their areas.<\/p>\n
At times, they too were recruited to join in the poaching or provide information on where rhino could be found.<\/p>\n
While the extinction of rhino would be a huge blow to the country, Brebner also highlighted that if the rhino had all died out, people would also lose out on their jobs.<\/p>\n
Source\u00a0News24<\/a><\/p>\n SA drones successful in driving away rhino poachers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on rhinos<\/h3>\n