Rhino deaths could outpace births by 2026. (Gallo)
South Africa has 73% of the world's rhino population, but last year 668 were killed. In the first half of this year 450 have already been killed. This is despite R75-million extra funding from the treasury and the deployment of the army, as well as a wide array of technology.
With all these options not lowering demand, the South African government is planning on asking the world body on the trade in endangered species – Cites – to allow a once-off sale of legal rhino horn stockpiles. These are horns that come from natural deaths.
A similar once-off sale was allowed in 2002 for ivory in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. But this was widely criticised as stimulating the market and doing the opposite of what it intended to do.
Edna Molewa, the minister of environmental affairs, said every possible solution had to be explored to stop the rhino slaughter. "2026 is the year where we see the beginning of the extinction of the rhino. This is around the corner and that is scary."
By that year the number of rhino being born would not be able to replenish the number being killed. South Africa will be hosting the next Cites meeting in 2016 – a decade before this happens. "We are carrying the world's rhino population. We are looking for anyone that has a proposal," she said.
The proposal was part of a "cocktail" of solutions that were being explored. "What we are not able to do is the same thing every day, which is to increase the budget. Of course we are doing this, but we need to devise other means and try other mechanisms to stop this killing," said Molewa.
Fundisile Mketeni, deputy director general of biodiversity and conservation at the department, said the government has 16 437kg of horn stockpiled. The private sector, which was only forced to count its stock this year, has 2 091kg. Neighbouring countries had also indicated that they would join in the once-off sale as they also have substantial stockpiles from culling and animals dying of natural causes, he said.
Memorandum with Vietnam
The money raised – anywhere between R100 000 and R400 000 per kilogramme – would be used for conservation, research and to help participating communities around the parks, he said.
Mketeni said the memorandum signed with Vietnam on rhino trade was already having an impact. The numbers of permits given to pseudo-hunters – hunters from Vietnam who would pose as hunters but all they wanted were the horns – had also dropped dramatically from over a 100 to zero this year.
That the government is trying everything was revealed by Mketeni when he said there were proposals to put some black rhino in a sanctuary. "If all else fails let us have some left in a sanctuary because we do not want to be faced with the issue of dinosaurs," he said. However, this was a problem because inbreeding would damage the genetic pool of the rhinos.
There are only around 2 000 black rhino in the country, compared to 18 000 white rhino, because they breed less frequently.
And while the government was looking for a once-off sale, it would continue with its other efforts to stymie rhino poaching. These included working to lower demand – an effort that Cites helped at its last meeting in Bangkok when it ordered the consumer countries to report back every year on their efforts – and using any local means to stop poachers. "We are using everything. When people come and tell us we should have these unmanned planes over Kruger, we listen," said Molewa.
Plans to put the fence dividing the South African and Mozambique sides of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park were also firmly on track. The delay had been the Mozambique government needing to move seven communities to make way for the fence. Funding would be carried by both parties – with SANParks saying it could cost R400-million to erect.
Molewa said that it was not yet a full proposal and would still be discussed with all the involved parties before being taken to Cites.