Alleged rhino poachers arrested in a major bust on Christmas day last year in Hartebeespoort Dam appeared in court on Friday. Conservation officials believe the arrests have broken the back of illegal rhino poaching in South Africa.
Taxidermist and curio shop owner Ashraf Cassim, with 15 other people, appeared in the Middelburg Regional Court at the end of last year, on charges relating to killing rhinos and smuggling rhino horns. Cassim is the owner of the Just Africa curio shop in Hartebeespoort Dam.
He was released on bail of R75 000, while other suspects — who include Chinese, Mozambicans and South Africans — paid bail of R5 000 to R20 000. Environmental programme 50/50 broadcast footage of the bust last night.
Up to 80% of rhino horns poached in South Africa in the past two years might have been handled by Cassim, SANParks investigators have told the Mail & Guardian.
At least 74 South African rhino have been poached since January last year. Rhino poachers can expect to pocket R2 000 to R10 000 per animal and middlemen R40 000. The end product can fetch up to R500 000 in foreign markets.
The World Wildlife Fund says rhino horn is a valuable ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine — despite the absence of scientific evidence of its curative properties.
The Hartebeespoort Dam operation followed SANParks investigations that started in April last year. The Kruger Park alone lost 36 rhinos to poachers last year and another 10 this year — including the highly endangered black rhino.
”Our parks are under severe pressure,” said SANParks head David Mabunda. There are about 12 000 rhino in the Kruger, comprising probably the only viable population left in the world, Mabunda said. Elsewhere rhino populations are under the gun and in the Congo only 14 of the once 2 000-strong northern white rhinos population are left.
Mabunda said parks investigators face well-organised international syndicates. The curio shop in Hartebeespoort Dam is allegedly part of that network.
Ken Maggs, head of SANParks Specialised Corporate Operations, said poachers chose remote parts of the Kruger in which to operate. One particular hotspot is Kingfisher Spruit in the Orpen area, where 17 rhinos were shot last year.
Meanwhile, police last week discovered 10 lion and rhino carcasses in a Brooklyn, Pretoria, house. Vietnamese national Nuyen van Hai appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday in connection with the stash.
The SPCA had contacted the Tshwane municipality to report that illegal animal killings might be taking place at the residence. It is suspected that the animals were trucked to the large house in the upper-class suburb — rented by Van Hai and two other Vietnamese — where they were slaughtered.
Cassim was not available for comment.
Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said last week in the Kruger that the escalation in rhino poaching worried him considerably and that he was strengthening legislation to deal with poaching.