The South African wildlife community gets hit with yet another arrest.

A wildlife veterinarian in South Africa has been arrested for illegally removing the horns from 15 rhinos. Dr. Andre Charles Uys allegedly dehorned the rhinos in the Maremani Game Reserve, located in Limpopo Province.

Dr. Uys was released on R10,000 (US $1,416) bail by the Musina Magistrate’s Court and is scheduled to appear again on March 18^th.

He was charged with violating Section 57 (1) of the National Environment Management: Biodiversity Act No 10 of 2004 – A person may not carry out a restricted activity involving a specimen of a listed threatened or protected species without a permit issued in terms of Chapter 7.

The arrest was made through the efforts of the National Wildlife Crime Reaction Unit, led by the Hawks. At this time, public information is not available regarding the current whereabouts of the horns or whether the horns were confiscated by authorities.

Not the first veterinarian linked to rhino horn crimes

This incident is not the first time a veterinarian has been suspected of rhino horn crimes.

In September 2010, Dr. Karel Toet and Dr. Manie du Plessis of the Nylstroom animal clinic were arrested in connection to a notorious rhino horn syndicate, along with Dawie Groenewald (Out of Africa Adventurous Safaris).

The high-profile “Groenewald gang” is expected back in court in April 2011, to face charges of assault, fraud, corruption, malicious damage to property, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and contravening the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act.

‘Insiders’ involved in illegal rhino horn trade

An alarming number of arrests for rhino horn crimes have involved “insiders” from within the South African conservation community, hoping to cash in on the ignorance and myths surrounding the use of rhino horn.

There is an in-depth look at this disturbing topic at Are ‘Insiders’ Intentionally Fueling Demand for Illegal Rhino Horn?, which notes that nefarious business alliances, loophole abuse, private stockpile leakage, dehorning scams, and legalized trade speculation are exacerbating South Africa’s rhino crisis.

Eight rhinos already killed worldwide

2011 is already off to a disappointing start.

In South Africa, the most recent killing occurred in KwaZulu-Natal. Prior to that, two rhinos were murdered in Kruger National Park, a pregnant rhino was slaughtered in the Hoedspruit area, and another near Musina. Still another was killed in the Eastern Cape, at Kariega Game Reserve near Kenton-on-Sea.

One rhino has been killed in Nepal and another in India, bringing the worldwide death toll to eight since the start of 2011.

During 2010, 333 rhinos were slaughtered in South Africa, nearly tripling 2009′s total of 122.

Rhino horn prices ‘soar’ after leaving Africa

Although rhino poachers are said to earn as much as R25,000 per kilogram in Mozambique, and only around R30,000 per horn in South Africa, the price is far greater in rhino horn consumer countries.

Average rhino horn weights are generally calculated using three kilograms for black rhinos, and five and a half kilograms for white rhinos.

Using current exchange rates and average weights of white rhino horn, the higher Mozambique price of R25,000 per kilogram could mean nearly $20,000 US dollars (per horn) for murdering a rhino.

However, once rhino horn leaves Africa, the price soars.

In Vietnam, a wildlife trade researcher found that rhino horn could command USD $40, 000 per kilogram. Other sources, including a 2008 Chinese research publication, suggest that the price could be even higher in China, perhaps as high as USD $60, 000 per kilogram.¹

Continued use of illegal rhino horn in traditional ‘medicines’

At the root of the rhino crisis is the continued use of rhino horn in traditional Chinese medicine.

Illegal rhino horn is in highly sought after for use in traditional medicines in China and Vietnam, despite the fact rhino horn has been extensively analyzed and contains no medicinal properties.

Research conducted by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC found that most rhino horns leaving Southern Africa are being smuggled to China and Vietnam.

Spreading Chinese footprint in Southern Africa

It has also been noted that the spreading Chinese footprint in Southern Africa has placed the demand for rhino horn perilously close to the supply, and counter poaching reports have linked the increase in rhino and elephant killings to a flood of Chinese weapons in the region.

Abuse of CITES research loopholes

There are further concerns that state-funded rhino horn use proposals from China served as one of several catalysts for the surge in rhino killings across Southern Africa.

Such proposals, which surfaced in 2008 and 2009, encourage the use of rhino horn, and strongly suggest the PRC government is attempting to circumvent CITES research provisions by blurring the lines between research and commercial trade in rhinos.

Source: “Vet charged for dehorning rhinos.” BuaNews. 21 January 2011.

Image: istockphoto.com

Other references:

1. Yanyan, D., Qian, J. (2008). Proposal for Protection of the Rhinoceros and the Sustainable Use of Rhinoceros Horn. State Soft Sciences Project, Development Strategy for Traditional Chinese Medicine Research

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Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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