Rhinoceros poaching in Southern Africa
Because of excessive poaching, rhino populations have decline rapidly since the 1970s, leaving some species critically endangered and facing extinction.
International rhino horn trade is illegal; however, a lucrative black market exists stemming from the rising demand from South East Asian countries, particularly Vietnam and China.
[5] The history of rhino poaching in southern Africa dates to the colonial era when the British went ashore at the current Cape Town in 1647.
During the colonial era in southern Africa, rhinos were hunted recreationally as a sport and for the possession of their horns, which were used as symbol of wealth and prosperity.
The white rhino population made a recovery due to the intervention of the Africa's oldest nature reserve; the Hluhluwe-Mfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal.
[7] The rhino population continued to grow despite the presence of poachers, which was maintained at a consistently low level during this period.
90% of the remaining black and white rhinos are in the southern African countries of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
South African Environment Minister Barbara Creecy reported on 1 February 2021 that rhinoceros poaching in that country was down for the sixth year in a row, to 394 animals killed in 2020 for their horns.
[4] The horn is crushed into a fine powder and manufactured into tablets or dissolved in boiling water and consumed orally.
Trained gunmen are hired to carry out the poaching missions utilising advanced combat technologies such as silenced weapons and night vision scopes.
[13] Poachers smear rat poison on salt and mineral deposits, which rhinos often lick to revitalise certain parts of their digestive system.
At this point it was decided to translocate more than a hundred (exact numbers unknown) tagged and micro-chipped rhinos to Botswana's remote wilderness,[15] where at the time, they were safer.
Some were relocated to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary and some to the Okavango on private concessions, where they received protection from rangers and the BDF.
National en regional cooperation was enhanced while participation of the private sector, non-governmental organisations and donors is encouraged.
Traffickers act as the intermediaries between the poachers and the end users,[24] with most of the demand coming from consumer markets in the South East Asian nations of China and Vietnam.
Since the dye is toxic to humans, the horn is no longer of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine and as a result diminishes in trade value.
[35] They patrol the private game reserves that comprise the area, sweeping the borders to detect signs of entry.
They originated in South Africa in 2017 through collaboration with a German entrepreneur and a local private security expert with the goal to prevent Rhinoceros deaths.
Rhisotope is an initiative by University of Witwatersrand in cooperation with Rosatom where small amounts of rare radioisotopes are injected into the rhino horns.
The nuclides have no health impact on rhinos or humans, but can be easily detected on borders thus increasing risk for the traders.
[37] The biggest rhino horn seizure ever recorded was made in South Africa's North West Province on 13 April 2019.
Those against the decision argued that it is not a feasible solution to regulate domestic trade as the levels of illegal activity is too high to be controlled effectively.
