In defence of the rhino
A speed racer in the bush comes to mind when you think of Ted Reilly in his old Mazda as he makes his way along the roads in the Mkhaya Game Reserve on the eastern side of Swaziland.
He races along the dirt roads with the certainty of someone who has driven on them for decades and knows the land. He stops only at a fork or bend to check the mini-bus carrying journalists that is attempting to keep up. A few moments later he stops again; to the right, a black rhino and her calf stand under the shade, surprised by the appearance of Reilly’s car.
Reilly and his wife Liz are behind a proposal made to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in the hopes of legalising the trade of Swaziland’s rhino horn. The organisation is meeting in Johannesburg this month.
Not the most popular of ideas, it seems, as the Cites secretariat, along with other organisations such as the WWF, has already recommended that the idea be rejected. Nevertheless, the Reillys’ proposal will be heard. Because of the way the convention is set up it will be debated, irrespective of any rejection.
To the Reillys, who, with the support of Swaziland’s royal family, pioneered and implemented the establishment of the kingdom’s protected areas, having the debate in itself is a victory, because it will force a discussion about their proposal and the current approach to rhino conservation, which they believe is not working.
The couple believes that selling rhino horn will create a funding model to meet the escalating cost of protecting the species. It won’t stop poaching, but it should put Swaziland in a better position to fund the defence, pay rangers higher wages, offer higher rewards to people who bring forward information about poachers and help the communities that live in ever closer proximity to parks and conservation areas.
“Why persist with something that isn’t working and has not worked for 39 years?” asks Reilly. “Of course there will be poaching and laundering, but who is going to protect rhino if [doing so has no value]? Who will protect rhino if it costs too much