It
has been often said that humanity is capable of great achievements,
but also monstrous destruction. We share this planet with other
living creatures; those who fly through our skies, others who walk
the same soil we do, and still those who inhabit the waters. As the
dominant creature gifted with reasoning and intelligence, it is
expected that we would protect those other living creatures from
pointless destruction. That is where the theory ends, with only one
exception.
Through
the decades human development has brought about industrialisation and
urbanisation, gradually polluting this planet and affecting all life
on it. As an intelligent species we are capable of turning this
damage around, of developing alternatives which will not force us to
surrender the comforts that we are so used to. Then why can't we find
a way to stop the slaughter of creatures that we share our Earth
with? Why should we speak of the extinction of a species simply
because of greed driven by an insane demand?
The
rhino is marching towards extinction in the wild as the slaughter of
this magnificent beast continues to rise each year. Poaching is not
simply a nuisance, it is an epidemic as lethal as the Black Death
that gripped Europe in ancient times. Images of savagely butchered
rhinos increase almost on a daily basis, and the threat of penalties
for poaching if caught are not a real deterrent.
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| photo courtesy of The Australian Rhino Project |
In
2010 recorded rhino deaths from poaching was 333, which rose to 1215
in 2014, an increase of almost 400% in four years. Penalties for
poaching are not deterring the poachers, not when the bounty for a
well shaped and intact horn is between $750,000 to $1 million. Rhino
horn brings in more per ounce than cocaine or even gold. Those who do
the actual slaughter do not see such huge profits, they are paid only
a tiny percentage, but to the Africans it is still more than what
they can earn working for a year, making it a risk worth taking.
True
there are those who believe that saving the rhino is of great
national importance. At this rate rhino deaths will overtake births
between 2016 and 2018, and extinction of this magnificent beast will
be ensured. Local rangers patrol the vast lands of Kruger National
Park in South Africa but the land is both tough and massive in its
breadth. Another effort to save the rhino has been under way, by
moving rhino into Northern Botswana at the edge of the Okavango
Delta.
This
project has serious merit, yet the Okavango Delta region is not a
fenced area, leaving the rhino open to poachers. The Kruger National
Park has its own rangers and government support yet it is one of the
main killing fields of rhino. Northern Botswana has the same
potential; it is simply a different location.
In
Australia an alternative project has been launched that provides a
truly safe location for the rhino from poaching regardless of how
high the price for the horn climbs. The Australian Rhino Project was
formed by two men, Ray Dearlove and Allan Davies, with one focused
goal in mind; to establish breeding herds of white and black rhino in
Australia as an insurance population for the two species facing the
threat of extinction.
Ray Dearlove was born and educated in South Africa and emigrated to Australia in 1987, yet his love and link to his homeland never left him. In May 2013 he was contacted by a group of people in South Africa concerned with the increasing slaughter of the rhino and the very real fear of their extinction in the wild. Dearlove found himself faced with an incredible idea; to establish a breeding herd of both white and black rhino in Australia. He decided to take this idea further by contacting a long time friend, Allan Davies.
Davies
is an Australian-born businessman with some 40 years experience in
the Australian and international coal industry. He is a registered
mine manager in South Africa, and together with his wife Lyn Davies,
joined Ray and Margaret Dearlove in an adventure to save the rhino
from extinction.
Dearlove
and Davies contacted Professor David Emery, Pro-Dean and Professor of
Parasitology with the Veterinary Faculty at the University of Syndey.
Together with Jackie Dalton, Development Officer at the Veterinary
Foundation from the University of Sydney, it was decided that the
Taronga Conservation Society of Australia had to be part of this
project for any real chance of success.
Taronga's experience was to be the key; its black rhino program at its Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, some five hours from Sydney, has bred more animals than anywhere else outside of Africa. At the same time, Davies secured the approval of the South African authorities, and in December 2013 the Australian Rhino Project was launched.
The
plan is to bring 80 rhinos to Australia, developing a breeding
herd as insurance against extinction. Once, or if, the
situation stabilises the rhinos and its prodigy will be put back into
the wild, and not only in South Africa. It is a monstrous task
costing approximately $8 million. The cost for one rhino is one
hundred thousand dollars, with the bulk of the cost going to air
transportation.
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| Ray Dearlove, Co-founder The Australian Rhino Project |
Upon
touchdown in Australia, Ray Dearlove told Mayorgate, “The
rhinos will go into quarantine (as per the Australian government's
laws), thereafter the rhinos will move to one of several locations,
for fairly obvious reasons these locations will not be disclosed. All
movement of endangered species is governed by CITES [the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]
– to which we adhere to the letter.”
Mayorgate
asked Dearlove why was he doing this, what was he going to get from
it? His response was clear. “Alexander this
is a personal passion. I am not paid by anyone. I do this because I
believe that if I or you or others don't do something about it, who
will? We cannot let these animals become extinct on our watch.”
Indeed
the question is, who will? WWF-South Africa announced in 2010 the
first World Rhino Day, an idea that germinated in the mind and heart
of Lisa Jane Campbell of Chishakwe Ranch in Zimbabwe. A Global March
Against Extinction was held in London on October 3rd and
4th this year, focusing on both elephants and
rhinos. But awareness is not needed here in the West, the demand for
tusks and horns stream from China and Vietnam. Memorandums of
Understanding have been signed between China and South Africa, yet
the slaughter continues. It is not only the rhino that poachers
butcher; the elephant population has dropped from 109,051 in 2009 to
43,330 in 2014.
Recent
news of a 66-year old Chinese woman with ties to the Chinese and
Tanzanian elite, Yang Feng Glan, arrested in Dares Salaam, Tanzania
for smuggling 700 tusks brings only shock and revulsion.
Corruption is an important key behind the smuggling which supplies an
insane demand – no MOU can pierce through that.
Rhino
horn is used by the Vietnamese and Chinese because they believe it
will help a man with an erection and will wipe away a hangover. Yet
the horn is nothing but keratin, and for this the slaughter of
rhinos has increased from 333 to 1215 in just four years.
Will
an MOU or a march through the streets of London stop a man
like Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? For his 91st
birthday, he fed his guests a young elephant, buffaloes, sables,
impalas and more, while a lion and crocodile were slaughtered,
stuffed and presented to him as gifts. This indifference to life is
beyond alarming.
It
is undeniable that there are brave individuals like Ray Dearlove and
Allan Davies, who believe that we cannot simply sit back and do
nothing. Rangers in the Kruger National Park, together with people
like Chris Palmer, risk their lives to stop poachers. Yet the
slaughter continues, fueled by a demand based on nothing more than
superstition, a demand that will not slow down for the foreseeable
future.
The
time has come for real and constructive action before it is too late.
The Australian Rhino Project in its September 2015 newsletter
finished with these words from Ray Dearlove: “Not for one moment
do we suggest that our proposal to build this breeding herd in
Australia is the answer, rather it is but one strand in a complex
strategy in the fight against the poaching of these iconic animals.
We leave you with one thought. Please do not think that extinction in
the wild 'won't happen'. Just a few weeks ago we were informed
that the Sumatran Rhino became extinct in the wild in Malaysia.”
Can
anyone willingly allow these creatures to be wiped off the face of
this Earth and not want to do something to save them?
No
man, woman or child can remain blind or untouched by the suffering
captured in the still eyes of a slain rhino. Equally there is no
human being as a guardian of a tear drop of compassion who can become
deaf to the cries of loss emanating from a baby rhino cub. In our
hands, we have the power to change all of this.
