PLANS TO REWILD RHINOS

John Hume, the well-known rhino breeder, has announced plans to rewild approximately 100 southern white rhinos to conservation areas in Southern Africa annually.

Hume, the world’s largest individual owner and breeder of rhinos, is known for his passion for these animals and is a strong proponent of legalising regulated trade in rhino horn. Hume’s proposal seeks to address the ever-increasing pressure on wild rhino populations, and his rhino cows have produced over 1 800 calves over the last 30 years.

In February 2022, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment released poaching figures for 2021. SANParks lost 209 rhinos to poaching in 2021, while 124 rhinos were poached from private reserves in the same period. The problem has clearly not gone away, but the media attention seems to have waned. In June, conservation authorities in KwaZuluNatal announced that 106 rhinos had been poached in the province’s parks and reserves since

January 2022. KwaZulu-Natal lost 102 rhinos to poaching in 2021 and 93 in 2020. According to Hume, they recently celebrated five years and two months without losing a single rhino to poaching. “To prevent the rhino from going extinct, you must breed better, and you must protect better,” he says. “You need to be able to do both.”

According to Brandon Jones, the project’s security manager, Hume’s security measures on the farm comprise radar and virtual fences, boots on the ground and helicopter surveillance. “Our rhinos are under constant 24-hour visual watch. We know where all the rhinos are all of the time,” he says. Rhino horn trimming under the guidance of veterinarian Dr. Michelle Otto forms part of the project’s security measures, and the rhinos released from the farm will also be dehorned for their safety.

One can only hope that potential partners in this endeavour are up to the challenge and committed to ensuring the safety of these donated rhinos.