Rhino warriors carry wildlife crisis to Vietnam
Five South African Youth Rhino Ambassadors have set out to Vietnam in an effort to reduce rhino poaching and the illegal wildlife trade.
THERE was an overwhelming sense of pride and a feeling of hope at the King Shaka International Airport earlier today as five South African Youth Rhino Ambassadors prepared to embark on their mission to convey the rhino plight to the citizens and leaders of Vietnam.
Nadav Ossendryver, Phelisa Matyolo (Gauteng), Jacomé Pretorius (Western Cape), Emma van der Meulen (Mpumalanga) and Jared Robinson (KwaZulu-Natal) have been invited to visit Vietnam (internationally known as a key consumer country and hub for the sale of rhino horn) as part of a demand reduction campaign known as Operation Game Change (OGC), where they will address the current rhino poaching crisis in the country.
With them they are carrying what they believe is one of the most important records regarding the rhino plight – the World Youth Wildlife Declaration (WYWD). The book, weighing approximately 7kg, contains thousands of signatures of citizens from across the globe calling for an end to rhino poaching and all other forms of wildlife crime.
The WYWD initiative was launched by Project Rhino KZN and the Kingsley Holgate Foundation on World Rhino Day last year at the inaugural World Youth Rhino Summit as part of the international Rhino Art – Let the Children’s Voices Be Heard Campaign. Over the last 12 months, the declaration has travelled across South Africa and other countries, collecting more than 130 000 signatures. Some of the notable signatories include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the late Dr Ian Player and humanitarian adventurer Kingsley Holgate. The ambassadors for the OCG were chosen based on their leadership and activism efforts during the 214 and 2105 summits.
“Wildlife crime amounts to the second biggest illegal trade market in the world, exceeded only by the drug market, and rhino horn is the currently the most expensive commodity in the world. This initiative provides young people, the future leaders of our nation, a voice to challenge the governments to address the loopholes that are currently enabling wildlife crime to to continue in the conservation sphere,” said Sheelagh Antrobus, Project Rhino KZN coordinator.
KZN representative, Robinson, said he was excited to start building lifelong friendships with the youth of Vietnam so that they could in the future work together for the greater good.
“The rhino is a symbol of South Africa. It is our responsibility to protect them and I do not want to be a part of a generation that can say, ‘I did nothing to save the rhino’. The declaration is a wall of power which contains thousands of calls to stop rhino poaching and it is a privilege to be one of the individuals carrying it across. I want the people of Vietnam and other countries to see our passion and realise how their culture is threatening our wildlife,” he said.
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