043 702 2000

Veterans help in battling SA rhino poachers

US MILITARY veterans are putting their deadly combat skills to good use protecting rhinos from poachers in South Africa.

These highly trained former soldiers run towards the sound of gunfire‚ not away from it.

Ryan Tate‚ a former Marine‚ came up with the idea after watching a documentary on poaching.

“I saw a rhino with its face cut off. I cried for a good five days and decided hey‚ there are more important things in life than making money‚” he said.

He formed an outfit called Veterans Empowered To Protect African Wildlife (VetPaw) which harnesses the skills of former US soldiers to train‚ assist and advise rangers in counterpoaching operations.

Rhino Shield‚ an award-winning documentary‚ shows the work the former soldiers are doing.

Jeff‚ one of the veterans acting as a team leader‚ says in the documentary: “I don’t want to brag or anything but hopefully some of the most dangerous people on the planet are now protecting these animals that they [poachers] are trying to get to.”

“When I returned to civilian life after the Marine Corps‚ I lost myself. I didn’t really know what I was here for.” He joined the US military after the9/11 attacks. Years later he was moved by the atrocities of elephant and rhino poaching.

Aware that many highly skilled US veterans were unemployed when they returned to life in a civilian setting‚ he saw an opportunity for them to serve in a different capacity. —