Latest stats and capture of rhino horn syndicate tells macabre story

MBOMBELA – Although Czech members of a rhino horn syndicate were apprehended, the latest statistics on rhino poaching tells a macabre story.

The arrest of 16 members of a rhino horn smuggling syndicate in Prague, Czechoslovakia, has been welcomed by the minister of environmental affairs, Ms Edna Molewa.

“The arrests are indicative of the international nature of rhino poaching and wildlife crime. The government is therefore committed to continue working with our international counterparts, through the improvement of bilateral relations, strengthening of regional and global partnerships such as Interpol, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) to nip rhino poaching and smuggling in the bud and save the species from extinction,” said Molewa.

According to an investigation dossier, Czech police and customs have linked the syndicate to controversial South African hunting outfitter Dawie Groenewald, and the network of wildlife operators dubbed the “Musina Mafia”. Investigators believe that the Czech hunters hunted rhino on Groenewald’s Limpopo farm Prachtig and signed the rights to the trophies over to the syndicate.

“These were not rhino trophy-hunting trips for the sport – they were cold-blooded executions,” an investigator said. “They wanted to sell them on the black market in Vietnam where their price exceeds the costs of rhino hunting.”

Authorities say the horns were shipped with Groenewald’s Out of Africa tags attached, but sent unmounted as trophies.

The Department of Environmental Affairs’ multifaceted approach to combat the scourge has included building international partnerships with countries believed to be transit countries for smugglers and alleged consumer nations.

This has included the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) in the fields of biodiversity, conservation and management with countries such as Vietnam, China and Mozambique.

The MOU is being negotiated and finalised with several other international partners, including Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand and Kenya.

The minister has appealed to all citizens of the world to stand together and blow the whistle on wildlife crimes, particularly rhino poaching.

All people are invited to adopt the South African clarion call to end rhino poaching during this festive season and during 2015: “Not on our Watch!”.

On December 18 the latest national statistics regarding rhino poaching, made available by the department of environmental affairs, were as follows:

South African National Parks: Kruger National Park – 780 and Mapungubwe – 1;

Provinces: Limpopo – 110; KwaZulu-Natal – 92; Mpumalanga – 80; North West – 65; Eastern Cape -15; Gauteng – 5; Free State -4; Northern Cape – 2 and Western Cape – 1.

This brings the total so far for 2014 to 1155. This is already 151 more than the total for 2013 which was 1004.