Chris Galliers of the Wildlife and Environmental Society spoke on Player’s behalf at the fourth International Wildlife Management Congress in Durban recently. Player said he felt “despair at the catastrophic killing of the white and black rhino”.
“It is urgent that we develop new strategies to cope with this crisis. “The sale of rhino horn accumulated from natural mortality is a strategy I believe we need to adopt. This is nothing new. In the 1960s, the Natal Parks Board sold rhino horn on the open market.” Player urged wildlife management associations to support (Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s CEO) Dr Bandile Mkhize as he puts his case to parliament which will hopefully go to Cites next year.
If SA did not make the cut-off to present its bid to Cites in 2013, it would have to wait until the next Cites meeting in 2016. SA would need to get a two-thirds majority from Cites members to overturn the 30-year ban on rhino horn trading. The support of prospective trading partners such as China and Vietnam as well as EU countries would be critical in obtaining this majority.
eThekwini mayor, James Nxumalo, pledged his support to Mkhize, while Omie Singh, KZN Environmental Legislature Portfolio Committee chairperson, said he was committed to action against rhino poaching. “There are only 15 000 rhino left in Africa. In KZN, 34 rhino have been poached so far this year.”
Singh called on international delegates from 42 countries to spread the message that rhinos needed protection. Tokozile Xasa, deputy minister of tourism, said rhino poaching was a challenge to South Africa and the world. “We are looking at programmes and policies to address the scourge of rhino poaching,” she said.
Wildlife and Environment Society of SA’s (Wessa) CEO, Mike Ward, said that while iconic species like the rhino received the bulk of media attention, it was an indicator of massive and persistent biodiversity loss around the planet. “These species are part of a heritage that transcends borders and which we all have a responsibility to protect. We need international collaboration to address biodiversity loss.”
