Tackling poaching requires teamwork - WWF

2011-09-21 14:06

Johannesburg - South Africa and Asia must work in unison to scare rhino poachers with strict legislation, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said on Wednesday.

"Putting powerful kingpins behind bars for 10 or 20 years will send a strong message to others not to engage in criminal behaviour," WWF African rhino programme manager Joseph Okori told reporters in Johannesburg.

"We are calling upon Vietnam, China [and Thailand] governments to ensure they do their part."

South Africa had made over 123 rhino poaching related arrests this year and six successful convictions. Last year there were 165 arrests and four convictions.

The WWF had invested over R1m in helping local investigations, deploying electronic scanners and sniffer dogs at ports, and arranging experts for rhino trials.

Part of the money was being used to install cyber-tracking devices on rhino, and catalogue both rhino and their horn DNA in separate national databases.

Consumer demand

These efforts would be useless without addressing consumer demand, Okori said.

"Rhino horn as a cure for cancer [and other ailments] is a marketing tool being used by international syndicates."

Jacques Flamand, leader of the WWF and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, said education was needed to prove rhino horn had no medicinal value.

"Consumers need to know that the hydrochloric acid and pepsin [a digestive enzyme] in the stomach breaks any animal product down."

A total of 287 rhino had been poached in South Africa so far this year. Last year, 333 rhino were illegally poached.

Vietnamese and Chinese officials would meet before the end of the month to discuss the illegal trade.

International Rhino Day will be celebrated on Thursday.

- SAPA