#rhinohearing

Public hearings have just commenced in Cape Town in hopes of finding a solution to the skyrocketing rate of rhino killings that have gripped South Africa. Use the hashtag #rhinohearing to follow breaking news and developments.

According to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group website, the discussion will lead off with an explanation of the “achievements and challenges” of the current rhino situation, given by the Department of Environmental Affairs and “other relevant government state holders”.

This will be followed by public comments, speaking from submissions selected by the Committee.

Excerpt from the Parliamentary Monitoring Group website:

The modus operandi being utilised both locally and internationally in the illegal killing of rhino and the smuggling of their horns in recent years clearly indicates the increasing involvement of highly organised and well structured crime syndicates that are operating in a lucrative international enterprise. In addition to the loss of horns through increased poaching, concerns have also been raised regarding ‘leakage’ of South African horns onto the illegal international markets from stocks in the public and private sector. These syndicates are also involved in the ‘legal/unethical’ hunting of rhino in the country.

Our outcome ‘wish list’

At a minimum, here is what we at Saving Rhinos would like to see:

• Rooting out corruption from top to bottom.
• Destruction of all government and privately owned rhino horn stockpiles.
• Immediate moratorium on trophy hunting of rhinos.
• Immediate moratorium on rhino exports to China and other rhino horn-consuming countries.
• Mandatory jail time for all rhino-related crimes — especially trade/hunting loophole abuse — regardless of citizenship (so far, mainly shooters and foreigners are going to jail and there’s something very unsavory about that).
• Full disclosure requirements on all rhino sales, exports, hunts, and auctions, i.e., all names available to the public. (Who sold those rhinos to China?)

Last year, 448 rhinos were killed in South Africa, up from 333 in 2010.

At least 24 rhinos have been victims of the illegal trade in this first month of 2012.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, 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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