Hume on verge of going broke
Rhino sanctuary in jeopardy as breeder runs out of cash
She also loved baby dolls. And kittens. She appeared on the cover of National Geographic twice. The first cover, in October of 1978, featured a photograph Koko took of herself in a mirror.
The second issue, in January 1985, had the story of Koko and her kitten, All Ball.
Following the article, the book Koko’s Kitten was published and continues to be used in schools worldwide.
“What she taught us about gorillas and their cognitive abilities will continue to shape the world,” the foundation said. – The Washington Post
WWF South Africa said it was concerned about the future of the 1 600 southern white rhino and the smaller population of black rhinos on John Hume’s Buffalo Dream Ranch after his claim he was on the verge of bankruptcy.
This week, the 76-year-old Hume, the world’s largest private rhino breeder, warned that the animals on his North West farm may be left vulnerable to poachers as he could no longer continue footing the monthly R5 million bill to secure and look after them.
“We’re concerned by reports of the impending financial collapse of Hume’s ranch with a population of around 1 626 southern white rhinos (representing around 8% of the global population),” said Dr Jo Shaw, African Rhino Lead at WWF South Africa yesterday.
“Of immediate concern is the future of the significant population of southern white rhino and smaller population of black rhino on Buffalo Dream Ranch.”
In an email to supporters this week, Hume wrote how a combination of factors had made it impossible to continue with his rhino breeding project. “Because of difficulties with permits, I’ve received very little money from the sale of rhino horns. Likewise with permits to export rhinos to other countries, I’ve been stymied by our government and the bureaucracy of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) system.”
WWF South Africa said Hume’s ranch was an intensive breeding project “based on a high-risk, speculative business model which assumed international trade in rhino horn would be legalised, thereby generating significant profit to cover security, feed and veterinary costs for the animals concerned”.
“The operation has proven that southern white rhinos can be bred intensively for population recovery. However, with international trade in rhino horn restricted under Cites and therefore very limited access to buyers, the economic model has apparently failed without any real contingency plans in place.”
Hume said the unsaleability of rhino horn in South Africa, coupled with the poaching threat, had rendered the sale of live rhino in South Africa almost impossible, and “even if you could it would be at a price of about half of what it cost you to breed and protect them”.
He asked supporters if “perchance you know a wealthy person who would possibly be interested in rhino conservation…
“I would appreciate it if you would forward this to him or her and give them my contact details, and I will gladly follow it up with more information to this person/s.”
Otherwise, he would be forced to sell his 8 000ha property off in pieces of between 500ha and 1 000ha, with between 100 and 200 rhinos per rhino farm.
“I will basically be forced to break the project down into smaller, even more expensive fragments and hope to sell it to various buyers. The problem with this is that most of the buyers would not be able to breed or protect as effectively as I have done with the project as a whole over the past decade.”
In a blog post in response to Hume’s claims this week, Cathy Dean of Save the Rhino, wrote how finding a suitable buyer or investor, who had a genuine passion for rhino conservation, and the ability to continue this level of expenditure without an income from the trade in horns, would likely prove difficult.
“Hume’s chances of finding investors or buyers may increase if South Africa decides to table a proposal to allow the international trade in rhino horn at the next Cites COP in May 2019.
“Parties have to submit proposals a minimum of six months in advance – by November – so Hume may only need to find emergency funds to last until then. A major concern is that investors from China or Vietnam may want to buy into Buffalo Dream Ranch.”
Other options included trophy hunting, diversifying the animals he bred or creating a tourism area, she said. “However, none of these are likely to result in the levels of income needed quickly enough.”
Hume said his other “ideas for help” included the Rhino Coin (cryptocurrency), “an innovative new Cryptoconservation initiative which has issued 1 Rhino Coin for each 1g of physical horn held in a vault in South Africa”, and a crowdfunding campaign.
Zoologist John Hanks applauded the “remarkable success” of Hume’s breeding project, which “could not have been achieved without an unprecedented level of financial support, all of which has come from John’s life savings. There is a very strong case to be made for rejecting the ban and moving to a legal international trade.