Trying to avoid day zero
breeder and fighter for selling rhino horn internationally
John Hume is the world’s largest breeder of southern white rhinos. He trims their horns for safety reasons and has amassed a horn stockpile of six tons.
His 8 400-hectare project near Klerksdorp is home to more than 1 730 rhinos and he has been involved in rhino breeding for 27 years. However, he has faced an uphill battle and receives little support, despite protecting more rhinos than some of the largest protected areas in South Africa.
Hume is seen as controversial, known for challenging the government’s moratorium on the domestic rhino horn trade and winning, as a result legalising local sales and holding the world’s first rhino horn auction. Despite this, he is on the verge of no longer being able to feed his rhinos.
To date, Hume says he has not sold substantial amounts of horn on the local market, simply because there is no demand. One of his largest sales failed.
“We had the permits in place, but those buying contravened the conditions by driving in the wrong province.”
Hume says the authorities tend to liken anyone interested in buying horn to a criminal and the buyer then loses interest. “The government has killed all the demand.”
Those with horn could keep it in the hope that international trade could become legal. Some sources indicate prices of up to $60 000 (R870 000) per kilogram on the black market – more expensive than gold or cocaine.
Hume made his money from real estate and he fell in love with rhinos. According to statistics provided by the Private Rhino Owners Association, he is one of just over 300 private rhino owners in SA, caring for more than 50% of the South African white rhino population. Although he is allowed to sell horn locally, the international trade has been banned since 1977.
Hume points out that wild rhinos in protected areas are dying for their horn, which is sold illegally. The Kruger National Park, the largest protected area in South Africa, is a poaching hot spot where up to five rhinos per day are brutally slaughtered. Although not official, sources indicate there may be less than 200 black rhinos and 1 800 white rhinos remaining.
Hume says he has spent his life savings on this project, but has little funding left. His expenses amount to a whopping R5 million per month, of which half is spent on security.
“Nobody has joined me in this noble cause,” he says. “I have had a few small donations. At this stage I am just trying to avoid day zero.” He did not confirm the deadline for day zero.
To stay afloat, Hume sold a large number of his buffaloes and his entire black rhino population to eSwatini. He also received export permits for 10 rhinos to two safari parks in Vietnam.
“If I do not find a buyer and or a partner for the project, it will be an ecological and animal welfare disaster,” he says. “Day zero will be a catastrophe for the world as it will lose the best breeding and protected rhino population in the world.” Hume’s rhino herd grows by 200 calves every year. Their mortality rate is much lower than rhino in the wild.
Hume argues that if he were able to sell his horn internationally, the project would not be in jeopardy.
He alleges that the poaching crisis has led to a new industry – NGOs making money from the poaching crisis by raising funds for rhino conservation.
This funding, he alleges, does not always go where it is needed, with some taking large percentages to cover admin costs.
He argues that money-collecting NGOs are fearful of losing their income stream and speculates that they would rather keep the current situation in place. “This is why they all stand together against the trade of rhino horn,” he says.
Rhino poaching came to public attention in South Africa in 2006 and created a massive predicament. The animals were no longer safe.
Hume’s rhinos are probably the most protected in the world. “We have not had a poaching incident in 33 months,” he says. After losing a total of 32 rhinos to poaching, Hume replaced all his private foot soldiers with camera and radar equipment, increasing his security expenses.
According to PROA founder Pelham Jones, “the elephant in the room is Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Their draconian legislation and lack of support is a disgrace”. He argues that the ban on trading rhino horn has not achieved much. “In 1977, when the ban was implemented, there were 33 rhino range states in Africa. Today, 23 of those have no rhinos left.”
But World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) SA media manager Andrea Weiss says: “WWF does not believe that a well-managed legal trade is feasible without negative impacts for wild rhinos, given the unacceptable levels of rhino poaching, the scale of illicit activity and the extent of illegal domestic markets in Asia.”