Counter Poaching Efforts

Information & discussion on the Rhino Poaching Pandemic
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Re: Counter Poaching Efforts

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Rhino poaching goes down in KZN as private ranchers resort to drastic measure

Far from ideal, but necessary.
By Siviwe Breakfast -
2018-05-21

KwaZulu-Natal has seen a dramatic drop in rhino poaching since game park owners in the province took it upon them to make the majestic beast no use to poachers.

In the last three years, private game reserve owners in KZN have been forced to undertake an intensive dehorning project, to counter the scourge of poaching and, according to a report on TimesLive, this measure has gone some way towards protecting the endangered species.

According to Project Rhino head, Chris Galliers who is quoted by the publication, 5% of incidents of rhino poaching in the province over the last two and a half years occurred in private reserves – down from 25% between 2010 and 2015.

“This is not something we want to do,” he said.

“It is expensive and invasive but we believe it is a ‘necessary evil’ as a temporary measure.”


With poaching highly risky business in its own, rhinos with small stumps, instead of longer horns, are less attractive to the perps, according to Galliers.

However, provincial game reserves in KZN are still battling with the scourge, as they have recorded most of the province’s 222 rhinos poached in 2017. The majority of the rhino population in these reserves has not been dehorned.

According to Ezemvelo spokesperson, Musa Mntambo, his organisation’s focus is on increasing security around the animal and not dehorning them, but they may have to consider resorting to the latter in the future.

“Our view is that a rhino is a rhino because of its horns, and that tourists prefer to see them that way, he said.

In another effort to stifle the illicit trade, private ranchers have also launched a legal market for rhino horn, with the hope that it will squeeze poachers out of business.

https://www.thesouthafrican.com/rhino-p ... 1s.twitter


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Project Rhino: How conservationists risk their lives to combat poachers

2018-05-24 08:50
Kaveel Singh in Zululand


In the picturesque, rolling hills of Northern KwaZulu-Natal there is a group of South Africans who have dedicated their lives to saving rhino.

They work and even reside deep in the heart of the natural beauty of the Somkhanda Game Reserve, between the remote towns of Pongola and Mkuzi.

The reserve is home to the big five, South Africa's most coveted and jealously-guarded tourist attraction.

But this attraction is under constant threat. All that stands between the potential extinction of a species at the hands of poachers, are small teams of up to 10 or 12 devoted individuals who work for the sake of natural preservation.

Project Rhino – a composite of leading environmental entities – contextualises the vital need for partnership, understanding and protection of rhino.

When speaking to key role players on the ground of Project Rhino, one fact is mentioned more than any other – the Gumbi community owns the land, makes the final decisions and benefits from profits.

"Somkhanda Game Reserve is a community-owned game reserve that is run and managed in partnership with the Gumbi community by Wildlands Conservation Trust and African Insight," Wildlands strategic manager for conservation Dave Gilroy says passionately.

On Saturday, May 17, Project Rhino successfully dehorned five white rhino.

The process is simple, yet complex to execute. Old-school trackers on the ground follow the footsteps, and vegetation consumption of the excrement of the rhino to locate its whereabouts.

A highly-skilled helicopter pilot joined by a vet then attempts to chase and dart the rhino, using M-99, a drug that is 10 000 times more powerful than morphine. The animal is only darted when it is chased into an open area where a ground team can begin working. The rhino's ears and eyes are covered while the vet joins the ground team.

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He then marks a spot on the rhino's horn and uses a chainsaw to cut through. The horn is sanded down and sterilised before the animal is awakened.

According to vet Dr Mike Toft, even the smallest piece of rhino horn makes rhino vulnerable to poachers.

"The horns go for about $60 000 (about R750 000) to $80 000 (about R1m) per kilogram and a full-grown horn is anything up to 5kg."

Saving rhino

At the forefront of the dehorning is Gilroy, an almost Indiana Jones-type character who exudes passion for nature and the reserve.

He sits down with News24 shortly after a day of dehorning. As if emerging from a warzone, a bloodied and scarred Gilroy says the process of dehorning presents many challenges.

"Game capture and working with a megaherbivore in harsh wild conditions in the bush is never easy. It is difficult on machinery and people. I was caught in a thorn bush while working with the rhino today."

Gilroy and his team had gone nearly three years without a rhino being killed at the reserve – until a few weeks ago.

"More recently we had a good run. Close on 1 000 days without incident. People are generally trying, but we are able to move them off and dissuade them. Unfortunately, we recently lost a white rhino female after poachers got in, in the early or late evening and were able to shoot the rhino and remove its horn before we could intercept them."

Gilroy said the killing of a rhino is always a difficult pill to swallow.

"It is really sad because you put in all that hard work and hundreds of thousands of hours. The teams have done their best for so long and in one moment and one shot, all of that hard work unravels.

"We were so close to apprehending these poachers though. Our guys have confidence, if it happens again, we will get them. The poachers knew how close we were."

How has Somkhanda managed to stave off rhino killings?

While many game reserves in the province are constantly losing rhino to poachers, Gilroy says Somkhanda has managed to mitigate killings through a multi-pronged approach.

"Wildlands and the Gumbi community always tried to be at the forefront of conservation achievement. When we have incidents that shake us to the core, we change the game. We apply some adaptive management principles, looking at bringing in armed rangers, camera traps and gate systems. We work with everyone to keep all our bases covered."

Gilroy said Somkhanda also kept abreast of poaching activities at neighbouring reserves.

"We believe relationships with neighbours are critical. We cannot pass problems on to neighbours. Those will eventually become our problems. We try to help one another."

According to Chris Galliers, the project co-ordinator and head of Project Rhino, private reserves now only make up about 5% of all rhino poaching.

"We believe that dehorning disincentivises poachers."

However, this process does not come cheap. Galliers says that it costs between R9 000 to R10 000 per rhino to dehorn.

"At the moment, it is working. Before dehorning, private reserves made up 25% of all dehorning. We believe dehorning is a temporary measure. It is putting a big hand print on rhino but for now, as we are evaluating the risk of poaching, it is a viable option."

Galliers said 2017 was the worst poaching year for rhino and that 222 rhinos were poached.

What solutions lie ahead?

Looking towards long-term solutions, Galliers said it was positive that police had identified rhino poaching as a priority crime. However, more could be done, he said.

"It indeed has been identified as a priority crime. Whether it has practically got that attention is debatable. Police have their hands full and it is difficult to add wildlife crime onto that."

Galliers said there had to be an understanding from police in terms of wildlife crimes and why they needed to be treated like any other crime.

"We are dealing with people with illegal firearms. They commit a variety of crimes when they attempt to poach rhino."

While more could be done, there had been notable improvements, he added.

"We obviously have challenges in terms of resourcing capacity and finances. We need extensive forensic and intelligence operations to intercept criminals before poaching happens. However, it has got better. There is better communication between police and the Hawks. Conservation agencies are also talking among each other because rhino poachers are moving between provinces."

Galliers said they had also engaged in educating young children from Asian countries on the importance of rhino conservation.

"We find that China is a hotbed of demand for the horns. It was previously used as traditional medicine, but we see this is waning in favour of jewellery as a status symbol. This is why we have brought youngsters over, so the future generation can expand its understanding."

Galliers said that the demand for rhino horn experienced a meteoric rise in 2009. The reason was economic growth.

"One of the things that is interesting is what kicked off rhino poaching around 2009. The instigator was the wealth of China, with that the interest in the demand for rhino horn. As such, it led to being recognised as a status symbol."

Galliers said he hoped there would be sweeping change in years to come.

"Of course, we do not want to do this forever (dehorning). We hope that the people who desire these horns and the people who assist them in attaining it, begin to understand these creatures [are] more than just a status symbol or commodity."

*Kaveel Singh was sponsored by Project Rhino to cover their anti-poaching initiatives.


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The fight against rhino poaching

Posted on 24 May, 2018 by News Desk in Conservation, News, Wildlife and the News Desk post series. —

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The de-horning process being conducted by an experienced wildlife veterinarian and a team of specialists whereby the rhino is sedated, the horn is removed and shaped to take off as much horn material as possible in a quick and painless procedure © Chris Galliers – Project Rhino Coordinator

Media release complied by Nicola Gerrard of LoveAfrica Marketing

This past week, Project Rhino in partnership with Love Africa Marketing hosted key national and international media on a three day site visit in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal.

The objective was to give the media a real conservation experience to show them firsthand how much effort is still going into the fight against rhino poaching. It is a problem that has not subsided. The media week was hosted in the hope of enabling the media to tell the ‘action story’ around anti-poaching interventions and efforts in protecting rhino and other wildlife.

“Not enough people know about the issues facing our wildlife, and if they don’t know, then we can’t expect them to care. The media play a vital role in creating awareness and this gave them an opportunity to see the incredible work on the ground” Nicola Gerrard, loveAfrica Director.

The start of the media visit kicked off at Zululand Anti-poaching Wing (ZAP Wing) base in Hluhluwe Town, where they learnt about the importance of aerial surveillance in supporting the 25 member reserves in KZN. The aircraft is deployed daily to monitor large areas of land, while working closely with individual member reserves. In 2017 alone, a total of 246 hours were flown with a distance of 18,000 kilometres covered.

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A canine member from the Project Rhino K-9 Unit © Project Rhino

The Project Rhino K-9 Unit was then introduced, and conducted a demonstration, highlighting the skill level of both handler and dog. Dogs have proved to be an essential tool to fight wildlife crime by tracking down poachers, detecting wildlife products and recovering illegal weapons and ammunition. The Project Rhino K9 Unit works closely with member reserves in the fight against wildlife crime.

The following day, the media joined Project Rhino founder members; Wildands, WildlifeACT and the Emvokweni Community Trust (ECT) on Somkhanda Game Reserve where rhino were darted, dehorned and fitted with new trackers. During a dehorning activity, DNA samples are taken, and young “clean” individuals are ear-notched. This process enables the monitoring team to uniquely recognise the individual.

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The rhino is darted from the sky by experience wildlife veterinarian © Chris Galliers – Project Rhino Coordinator

"Wildlands and the Emvokweni Community Trust are extremely fortunate to be part of Project Rhino and Wildlife ACT to help us manage our rhino population at Somkhanda. We are also very grateful to the Green Trust and the Global Nature Fund who support our work in the neighbouring community, spreading the benefits of conservation to the owners of Somkhanda. All our partners immediately rallied to our cause when they learnt that we lost a rhino due to poaching last month and assisted with the safeguarding of the calf that was orphaned. Through this week’s operation they have also assisted us with ensuring all the rhino in the reserve are dehorned as a safety measure to poaching,” concluded Dr Roelie Kloppers, Wildlands Executive Director.

The de-horning process was conducted by an experienced wildlife veterinarian, Dr Mike Toft and a team of specialists. The rhino were sedated and the horn removed and shaped to take off as much horn material as possible in a quick and painless procedure.

The rhino horn is made of keratin, which is the same type of protein that makes up hair and finger nails. The horn regrowth should be trimmed approximately every 18 months to deter poachers. This costs an average of R9,000 – 10,000 per rhino.

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Conservation in action as the media get up close and personal with the dehorning process © Chris Galliers – Project Rhino Coordinator

"Wildlife ACT assists with ongoing daily monitoring of both the white and black rhino populations, making use of state of the art technology in the form of tracking foot collars that Wildlands and the ECT elect to fit to every single rhino. These measures, in conjunction with high field ranger densities, mean that the risk of poaching to this important population is greatly reduced,” comments Taryn Gilroy, Wildlife ACT Director.

“Project Rhino, now in its 7th year, continues to bring together organisations with a common vision and goal, identifying synergies through an integrated, common approach and is collectively a representative body that carries powerful leverage ability. We will continue to work towards the ultimate goal of stopping wildlife crime”, added Project Rhino Coordinator, Chris Galliers.

A huge thank you goes to On Safari Africa for transporting the media to and from King Shaka Airport, LoveAfrica Marketing, Wildlands, Wildlife ACT, Green Trust, Global Nature Fund (GNF), Ezemvelo KZN, Africa Conservation Trust, Grant Fowlds and Emvokweni Community Trust for being our long term partners in conservation, protecting our heritage and fighting wildlife crime.


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Re: Counter Poaching Efforts

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Kruger’s rhino war: An exclusive look behind the scenes

JUNE 6, 2018

During an exclusive excursion to the Kruger National Park, Wild went behind the scenes with the heroic rangers and canines battling the rhino poaching war. See what it takes to protect South Africa’s critically endangered black and white rhinos.

Spending time with some of the Kruger National Park’s fearless anti-poaching members – rangers, canines, veterinarians, guides and pilots – is an honour. Daily, they put their lives at risk to safeguard Africa’s critically endangered black and white rhinos against the onslaught of poachers desperate for a piece of horn.

But thanks to the continued support of the SANParks Honorary Rangers and a wine brand with conservation at its core, Rhino Tears, the fight is far from over. Wild spent a few days at Kruger’s Mokhohlolo Wilderness Camp to find out how SANParks is defending rhinos on the frontline.

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At any given time, there are approximately 10 groups of poachers in the Kruger National Park. And with an enormous two million hectares to police, the SANParks anti-poaching rangers face a complex challenge. Wild spent time in the field for an insider’s view of this gruelling wildlife battle. By Arnold Ras and pictures by Leon Kriel

For three days, Wild called the secluded and unfenced Mokhohlolo Wilderness Camp home. Mokhohlolo, situated between the Kruger National Park’s Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie rest camps, is operated by SANParks Honorary Rangers: Conservation Services and mainly used for fundraising events in aid of anti-poaching. Upon our arrival, one of the rangers warned: “You’ll notice a natural barrier around camp. Take note that the fence is not to keep animals out, but to keep humans in.” We held our breaths.

Courtesy of Rhino Tears wine and SANParks Honorary Rangers: Conservation Services, our packed itinerary included front-row seats at the darting of a rhino for DNA samples and a wilderness hike that will be forever etched in our memories.

Fight from the air

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Up at 04:30, we were loaded onto an open safari vehicle. Excited and nervous, we set off deep into the bush to witness the collection of DNA from a Kruger rhino.

Before long, we reached our destination where some of Kruger’s most influential anti-poaching members explained how the darting process would unfold. Pilot Brad Grafton, a member of SANParks Air Services for the past three years, had the task of locating a nearby rhino. Currently, SANParks flies four helicopters or “squirrels” as Brad calls them – each an impressive piece of machinery with a price tag of R40 million. These six-turbine-powered engine aircrafts are a crucial component in the park’s anti-poaching operations.

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The cost of flying these bad boys? “About R12,000 an hour. And that’s probably one of the cheaper aspects. The other day, a small component on one of the tails had to be replaced, a little piece of aluminium, and it amounted to R65,000,” Brad explained.

Due to a nearly fatal incident – a poacher opened fire while being pursued by a SANParks helicopter carrying three anti-poaching rangers and a canine – the pricey decision was made to bullet-proof the bottom of all aircrafts.

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Vets in the wild

After darting a young bull with an extremely potent drug called etorphine, which is fatal to humans, Brad had to direct the drowsy rhino as close to the dirt road as possible before it lay down. This way, accessibility was somewhat less challenging for Dr Peter Buss, SANParks wildlife veterinarian, and his team.

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Standing next to the fully sedated rhino, we noticed the animal’s unsettling trembling. “The trembling is indicative of the use of oxygen,” explained Peter. “If you can stop the trembling, you can stop the oxygen being used by their muscles, which means more oxygen available for brain and heart function. By looking at the animal’s heart rate, we can determine whether the drug is working or not. Their heart rate can be as high as 170 beats per minute whereas the normal resting heart rate is between 30 and 40. Imagine a heart going at 170 and there’s no oxygen for it,” said Peter as he kept a close eye on the animal lying at his feet.

It was crucial that the young bull’s heart rate dropped below 100 before any of the research processes could take place. It was a race against time – the rhino would be down for only some 60 minutes. Blood samples for DNA were taken and a steady hand drilled a small hole in both the mammal’s upper and lower horn. A tiny microchip was placed inside each hole and sealed with resin. Lastly, the rhino was given an antidote to ensure he woke up.

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Horn drillings were carefully collected to be sent to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute for DNA identification. “If the horn gets separated from the rhino when poached and rangers find the horn somewhere else, they will know that the horn belongs to this rhino. Even if the poacher removes the microchip and we find the poached rhino, we can take a piece of skin, run a DNA profile and enable investigators to link the horn to the rhino.”

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Our 60 minutes were at an end. “Okay guys, let’s give him some space. Return to your vehicles. We don’t want to be here when he wakes up,” exclaimed Peter. It was a hopeful moment. I thought to myself: Godspeed, young and vulnerable giant.

A sad find

In the late afternoon we set off on a two-hour wilderness hike to explore Kruger’s tracks and signs. Field guides Alex Jansen van Rensburg and Mark Montgomery had us mesmerised by their bush knowledge – you can literally ask them anything, and no sound or smell went unnoticed.

As we crossed a dry riverbed, we made an unsettling discovery. All of a sudden, we were part of a crime scene: the undiscovered carcass of a ± 20-year-old female rhino. The shock was palpable. According to Mark, the carcass – with a visible bullet hole in the skull – wasn’t older than six months. And judging by the clean cut, the rhino’s horn had been removed by a saw. The heartbreaking scene brought the reality of rhino poaching home to me. It was no longer just another headline.

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That night, we enjoyed a bittersweet bush dinner under the stars. The sky grew dark as the sun made way for the full moon – or poacher’s moon as the Kruger rangers call it.

Defeating all odds

Meeting Neels van Wyk, a SANParks employee since 1994 and now section ranger for Crocodile Bridge, was quite intimidating. He has seen his fair share of gruesome crime scenes of rhinos and calves viciously slaughtered. But this astute and no-nonsense ranger has no intention of giving up the fight. Neels and his team of 22 rangers are responsible for protecting a huge chunk of the southeastern corner of Kruger.

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“It’s around 90,000 hectares – we’ve got an international and a southern boundary. We are responsible for air and vehicle operations, daily foot patrols and boundary patrols. As the rhino war escalates and poachers get more sophisticated, our equipment must be up to date. Luckily, the SANParks Honorary Rangers supply us with a lot of equipment thanks to their fundraising initiatives. We’ve got extremely dedicated people – we draw courage from each other,” said Neels.

Fundraising rangers

John Turner, chairman of SANParks Honorary Rangers: Conservation Services, now dedicates his life to supporting rangers, wildlife veterinarians and other anti-poaching efforts. It is thanks to the passionate dedication of John and countless other Honorary Rangers – they receive no remuneration for their work – that SANParks can yearly count on millions of rands to help finance this critical fight.

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“You look at the field ranger, out there all day and night… We do whatever we can to support and protect them. Working to counter rhino poaching is draining. What keeps us on track is equipping and training the rangers who face all the threats,” said John.

A different kind of wine

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Picture courtesy of Rhino Tears, Ravi Gajjar

Launched in 2014, Rhino Tears wine donates R15 of every bottle sold to the SANParks Honorary Rangers. So far, the wine label has donated R1,6 million to help combat rhino poaching in South Africa’s national parks. Founder John Hooper says Rhino Tears and its conservation cause was born in Kruger. “Every single cent of the R15 is used for counter poaching activities. Within the wine business, one does not often get the opportunity to have an association with conservation. Working with the Honorary Rangers is a privilege and Rhino Tears, for the consumer, is the perfect chance to make a meaningful contribution to saving the rhino.”

For more exclusive content on Kruger’s anti-poaching rangers and canines, don’t miss Wild magazine’s spring issue – due out September 2018.

Good to know

To date, SANParks Honorary Rangers have raised more than R150 million to support conservation in South Africa’s various national parks. Want to get involved? Send an email to info@honoraryrangers.org for more information.


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Re: Counter Poaching Efforts

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I just spent 2 days at the Kruger NP, and it was the first time I saw so many anti-poaching activity, which is usually much more discreet.
On S3, I saw 3 patrols of 2 armed men each, and 2 pick-ups with a dog in a cage. On H11, I saw several rangers and police vehicules and on man lying on the side of the road (I assume he was a poacher just arrested). And on H1-1, I saw again a pick-up with 4 rangers and one dog, they were about to put the dog on a leash and go into the bush.

I had not returned to the Kruger for 6 months (shame !), but these sightings gave me the impression that the situation has deeply deteriorated in a short while. Or is it just the awareness of the authorities that has increased ?

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Re: Counter Poaching Efforts

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Let's hope that it's the latter O-/ or maybe they do this kind of operations from time to time and you have happened to witness one -O-


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Who knows, Dingwe. But what is important is that the good guys are working hard, and thanks to them. :ty:


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At least we know they are trying to fight the poachers! :yes: \O


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SA cryptocurrency launched for rhino horn trade and conservation

Jun 14 2018 11:10 Carin Smith

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Rhino Coin, described by its founders Alexander Wilcocks and Jacques du Randt as a cryptocurrency "with a conscience", has been launched - with the aim of generating a new, untapped source of revenue to aid rhino conservation efforts.

The key motivation behind the cryptocurrency is to save the rhino by trying to create a steady and sustainable source of revenue for rhino conservation, according to Wilcocks and Du Randt.

"Rhino Coin attempts to give value to the legal rhino horn by converting it to cryptocurrency in a 1 coin to 1 gram (of horn) ratio, thereby allowing the conservationists to unlock the value of the horn and to take it to the international market, all while the horn is staying in South Africa," they responded to a question by Fin24."A coin holder can either trade his or her coin on the marketplace provided by the cryptocurrency trade engine or redeem it subject to the necessary permits being issued."

By Monday the Rhino Horn was trading at R119 per coin, a 25.26% price increase from the day of the launch, where it was trading at R95 per coin.Wilcocks told Fin24 that they had also seen a significant increase in trade volume since the launch event on 7 June 2018.

For conservation

Fin24 was told by Wilcocks that the majority of the first issue of Rhino Coins will go directly to the conservationists, who can trade with the coin to generate much-needed funding to sustain their operations. In so doing, they can create value from rhino horn without the horn having to leave stockpiles.

A further percentage is allocated to the Rhino Coin Foundation, to realise and distribute to conservation initiatives of their choice, but in line with the objectives of the foundation, which are conservation and community upliftment.

A question of value

Wilcocks explained that legal rhino horn has very little value in the domestic market. Even though a there are a lot of rhino conservation fundraising projects around, in their view, very little of the money is actually reaching grass roots, especially the private conservation initiatives.

With around a third of all rhinos in private care, Rhino Coin attempts to create value to current stockpiles in a bid to generate funds for these owners to sustain their efforts, even though the model is not limited to private conservationists.

A private conservationist will introduce horn to be stored in a secure place and be issued Rhino Coin in return, which can then be traded in a "liquid marketplace".

This, says Wilcocks, means the global community can be involved in partaking in rhino conservation, while retaining the advantage associated with cryptocurrency that allows one to potentially see a return.

Legal trade

With domestic trade being legal and the fact that the Rhino Coin is represented on a 1g of horn to 1 coin basis, redeeming the coin for horn will be allowed if all legalities are complied with, he explained.

Wilcocks told Fin24 that it is common knowledge that in the rhino conservation space, there is an active and on-going debate between two ideologies, pro-traders and anti-traders.

And although both sides have the intention to save the rhino and have valid arguments, the founders of Rhino Coin contend that, while the debate rages on, rhino are being killed at an alarming rate of nearly three a day, and something different needs to be done, in their view.

"Our solution is the development of Rhino Coin: a cryptocurrency with a conscience. While we unquestionably believe that rhinos should ideally roam free with horns intact in their natural habitat, we realise that we do not live in an ideal world," Wilcocks responded to a question by Fin24.

"Therefore, we decided that Rhino Coin would take a new approach and follow a similar role of the well-known 'Doctors Without Borders', by stating that Rhino Coin aims to operate 'in the warzone', without choosing sides, with the aim to save lives on the ground, in the present, and prioritising the welfare of the rhino population."

South Africa holds approximately 80% of the world’s rhino population.

The number of SA rhino poached averages around 867 rhinos per year, with more than a thousand rhinos killed per year since 2013 - not including 2018 figures.

"By tackling the problem on both a local and global scale, through cutting-edge digital technology, and cryptocurrency as its vehicle for change, we hope to impact positively on the issue of dwindling numbers of rhino and empower the public to do the same," said Wilcocks.

Rhino Coin is based on a private blockchain built on Ethereum, and creates a trading opportunity for the coin holders.

How it works

A purchaser acquires Rhino Coin, a cryptocurrency represented on a 1:1 basis. The participant, in return for his or her financial contribution, receives Rhino Coin, which can then be traded with other participants on a trade engine.

An individual could also trade Rhino Coin for legal rhino horn, but subject to the relevant permits being in place. The legal rhino horn is kept in a secured vault, the location of which the founders told Fin24 they would prefer not to disclose for security reasons.

Conservation

While 74% of the coin value will be allocated to conservation and community causes, 26% will go toward the continued development and sustainability of the platform.

The Rhino Coin Foundation, a non-profit organisation, has further been created as a separate entity made up of an external board of directors. They have been mandated to manage and direct the flow of funds to identified rhino conservation and community socio-economic development projects.

The Foundation Board’s main objective is to get the funds to where they are needed most, which is on the ground, including investing in the wellbeing of communities based in and around rhino reserves and range areas, according to the founders.

"By providing the communities with a better means in which to receive a sustained income, we hope to lower the benefit and temptation of participating in illegal poaching in the immediate areas," explained Du Randt.

Every project undertaken and invested in will be reported on and shared in detail with the public via the Rhino Coin website.

The main focus areas, are increasing rhino populations and communities around rhino reserves. An independent foundation has also been established to distribute funds to initiatives of its choice, but in line with the objectives of the company Rhino Coin Foundation NPC. Wilcocks told Fin24 that the Rhino Coin Foundation was looking to support rural communities that are next to game reserves in Southern Africa. These include South African and surrounding borders. In addition, they want to support rhino conservation projects as well as initiatives that are focused on environmental conservation.


"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
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