Ethical rhino owners could use a helping hand

RHINOS throughout South Africa are being brutally killed for their horns.

There are many articles in circulation that paint a very negative picture of private rhino owners, often citing them as greedy, uncompassionate business people.

Although there are some bad apples in the industry, they are certainly in the minority and, in general, wildlife reserve owners have chosen their lifestyles (and livelihoods) due to a love of nature, the African bushveld and wildlife.

I have never met an ethical private reserve owner who doesn’t have an interest in, and a very good grasp of, the grasslands, water sources, climate, bird life, seasonal changes in vegetation, births and deaths of animals and various other environmental factors that play a role on their land.

These people are the ultimate “greenies”, directly contributing to easing wildlife’s greatest threat throughout the world: loss of habitat.

As their reserves are their livelihoods and usually situated on smaller areas than our large national parks, they protect their land with adequate fences, good technology and sufficient manpower and they do so on their own dime, without requiring assistance from government or donors.

Essentially, they are selfsufficient conservationists.

In 2016, 1 054 rhinos were poached in South Africa and, of these, about 160 were on private land – about 15% of the total and proof that these rhino reserves are working very hard to keep their animals safe.

The owners of rhino reserves are not the sum of the owner but rather made up of a tough, dedicated and professional team that strives for the health and well-being of many species of wildlife on the property. These people have years of experience in the bush and generally have a background in nature conservation studies – further testament to their passion for wildlife. These are the people who first come across cruelly poached rhinos and who often must deal with orphaned rhino calves, badly-injured adult rhinos and severely traumatised staff.

At present, there are about 330 private rhino reserves in South Africa and they are home to about 6 500 rhinos – almost a third of the national rhino population and more rhinos than the rest of Africa combined. Since 2008, more than 70 rhino owners have sold their rhinos and opted out of having them on their land. This is due to the ever-increasing risk to the rhinos, as well as to reserve employees from armed incursions by gangs who wish to kill the rhinos for their horns.

As these reserve owners are forced to get rid of their resident rhino populations, rhinos lose out twice – in the opportunity to be protected and in the opportunity to establish a mini-rhino population in this safe space.

The levels of cruelty seen in rhino poaching incidents leave great emotional distress in their wake, both for the animals and the people that care for them – a terrible trauma to have to endure after seeing these animals grow up, play, and thrive on your property.

For many rhino owners who run close-knit and often family-operated reserves, the idea of having to endure this is enough for them to sell their rhinos on to someone who may be better able to protect them.

The costs of protecting rhinos have also reached exorbitant levels, with security measures amounting to considerably more than the overall expenses of general management and conservation of rhinos.

Rhino owners have spent more than R2 billion on rhino security, specifically, over the past eight years. Without some means of being able to generate these funds, more and more rhino owners will sell or get rid of their rhinos. Tanya Jacobsen RhinoAlive

R2 billion spent on security over the past 8 years