Twitter storm surges against legalisation of rhino horn

BUSINESS woman and mom by day, animal activist by night. This is the reality for Glenashey resident and core strategist for The Global March for Elephants and Rhinos (GMFER) organisation, Mariana Fernandes.

In recent years, the selfless campaigning and awareness initiatives run by animal activist groups, such as the GMFER, have proved successful against the continuous and rampant poaching of rhinos and elephants in South Africa, saving these animals from the brink of extinction.

However, a new threat has emerged revealed Fernandes during a recent interview with the Northglen News. “The South African government aims to legalise the trade of rhino horn, but we are planning to rally against this decision. If this motion is passed it would mean the extinction of the rhino species,” she said.

Fernandes and fellow activists have argued that by legalising the trade it will only increase the demand for rhino horn, falsely believed to hold medicinal powers.

“People who have not bought these items due to the illegality will find a liking to these items – inevitably increasing the already overwhelming demand,” explained the passionate animal lover. 

“Also, the diamond trade is legal, and yet we still have the illegal trade of blood diamonds. For years criminal syndicates have been doing it illegally why would they ever do it any other way? The same will happen if we legalise the trade of rhino horn. Instead we are calling on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to list these animals as endangered species,” she said.

It has been estimated that an African elephant is killed for its ivory every 15 seconds, and a rhino slaughtered for its horn every six hours.

“The sad reality is that there are only 400 000 elephants and 18 000 rhinos left in the wild in Africa. We are emotionally and economically dependant on these creatures. Imagine a world without them. It will be a sad day. Not only will we lose a part of our heritage, but in terms of tourism we will also take a huge hit,” she said.

To raise awareness and to vocalise their opposition against the government’s decision to legalise the trade, the GMFER is planning to hosts a ‘tweet storm’ on Twitter on 24 October.

“Many people have called for the killing of the poachers, but every time one of them is killed another pops up to take the other one’s place. The only way to save our wildlife is to kill the demand. Education is the best way to do so. Education and awareness go a long way, and social media is a powerful tool that enables us to reach out thousands of people in order to change the mindset,” explained Fernandes.

She urged the community to take part in the tweet storm by sharing the message and raising awareness as far and wide as possible. The Twitter hashtag for the storm will be revealed on the day. For more details on the storm, follow @EleRhinoMarch.

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