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We will not lower our voices until the world hears the truth: Rhino horn is NOT medicine.

South Africa’s SanWild Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary has announced its first program for training rangers in counter poaching methods to protect rhinos and other wildlife.

The first set of courses will begin next week.

The duration of the training is six weeks, and pricing information is available on the SanWild website.

• September 10^th – October 22^nd, 2010
• November 1^st – December 13^th, 2010

On completion of the training, successful recruits will be considered for a further six months deployment in the SanWild Wildlife Sanctuary.

After completing their optional six-months deployment in the SanWild Wildlife Sanctuary on a volunteer basis, qualified rangers will be considered for full time employment in a crack SanWild professional counter poaching unit that will work for provincial, national or private reserves on the contractual basis.

Visit the SanWild website for full details about the training program.

Volunteer rhino guards needed

Individuals with military training are also encouraged to become temporary rhino guards on a volunteer basis, for various game farms. Free food and accommodation will be supplied.

Please contact Louise Joubert via email to learn more about this volunteer opportunity:

louise (at) sanwild (dot) org

Source: Louise Joubert, SanWild Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary

Image via SanWild Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary

In response to the alarming escalation in rhino poaching, WWF has launched a global campaign to raise awareness and funds for the world’s remaining rhinos.

Over the last five years, more than 600 rhinos have been illegally killed to fuel the demand for rhino horn in traditional Asian medicines – even though rhino horn actually contains no medicinal properties.

Help for those on the front lines

Dr. Joseph Okori, Head of WWF’s African Rhino Programme explained via press release that WWF’s campaign will raise support for the unsung heroes who risk their lives every day to protect rhinos.

We’re asking people to take action during the month of September to help us protect our remaining rhino populations and also support our rhino warriors – the men and women at the frontline who risk their lives daily against the sophisticated, ruthless and heavily-armed international criminal gangs who run the illegal rhino horn trade.

A critical component of the campaign will be WWF’s increased security efforts in areas where poaching has been concentrated.

To help purchase anti-poaching equipment for rangers, WWF has set up a donation page, which pledges 91.5% of all donations will be used directly in the field for protecting rhinos. Click here for more information.

Donations will buy much-needed anti-poaching equipment for guards including binoculars, radios, night-vision gear, body armour, and rhino-tracking and camping equipment. Donations also will provide training for anti-poaching units and be used for emergency veterinary treatments for injured rhinos.

‘Make Noise for Rhinos’ Day

WWF is also asking for your support in a symbolic call for effective international action against rhino poaching.

On Wednesday, September 22^nd, WWF invites you to get out your vuvuzelas, your didgeridoo or any other kind of horn and make noise for rhinos.

This collective action will tell governments around the world to take the issue of rhino poaching seriously. It is a call for stronger law enforcement and strict legal penalties to deter criminals.

Encourage your friends to pressure their governments to take stricter action against the illegal rhino horn trade – and help spread the word that rhino horn is not medicine.

Rhino horn consumer countries

Dr. Okori also pointed out that WWF’s campaign will include rhino horn consumer countries.

WWF believes our international presence in more than 100 countries, including those where much of the horn is shipped to, will help make this campaign effective.

The wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC found that the majority of rhino horn gathered from the slaughter is destined for consumer markets in China and Vietnam, where rhino horn is believed to contain curative properties – despite the fact scientific analysis has proven otherwise.

Source: WWF; for further information, contact Dr. Joseph Okori, WWF International Rhino Campaign, WWF South Africa +27 72 352 0090.

Image: Saving Rhinos LLC

A rhino poacher who was shot during a gun battle with the Anti-Poaching Unit in the Pilanesberg Reserve reportedly confessed from his hospital bed that he was promised R10,000 to kill and de-horn a rhino.

Musa Zondi of the Anti-Poaching Unit said via Eyewitness News that the poacher died from his wounds in the hospital after being questioned by the authorities.

He told the police that he was Mozambican and that he was promised R10,000 to shoot rhinos.

An illegal weapon and an axe were recovered by authorities.

However, the dead man’s two accomplices are still at large.

Source: Eyewitness News

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Book Summary: The Lizard King takes the reader on a thrilling journey into the heart of the reptile smuggling world.

Infamous animal trafficker Anson Wong – who was recently arrested in Malaysia – is just one of the real-life villains portrayed in this shocking organized crime exposé.

The book chronicles the intimate details of U.S. federal agent Chip Bepler’s global pursuit to track down and convict the kingpins of the world’s most notorious reptile trafficking syndicates.

Fighting an uphill battle against the traffickers’ exploitation of legal trade loopholes and forged paperwork, Agent Bepler is also at odds with a court system that seems at times to have little sympathy for the helpless, scaly victims of this organized crime subculture.

Why this book is important: The Lizard King is the ultimate example of how legal trade in rare and endangered species actually serves as a smokescreen for illegal trafficking.

Time and again throughout this book, we are shown the tricks and schemes that wildlife smugglers use to launder their illegal wares. The laws and systems designed to protect threatened species are tragically exploited, as customs agents and wildlife authorities at every level are corrupted by the lucrative rewards of illegal wildlife trade.

However, the book also tells an unforgettable story of determination and triumph – offering hope and heroes when we need them most.

Quotable moment:

Wildlife dealers, zoos, and museums all over the world knew that if they could pay for it, Anson [Wong] could get it for them. Africa, South America – it didn’t matter. Wong could get anything: snow leopard pelts, panda skins, rhino horns. He had operations in Vietnam. He raised tigers to be stuffed and sold as trophies.

Where to purchase The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers

You can purchase The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers online at Amazon.com.

Learn more about The Lizard King

To learn more:

• Bryan Christy’s website: thelizardkingbook.com
• National Geographic: The Kingpin
• Anson Wong’s arrest: No Perhilitan Protection for Lizard King

Thanks to a tip, police managed to arrest four Zimbabwean men for attempting to kill rhinos in the Lephalale Game Reserve in Limpopo, South Africa.

Fortunately, they were caught before any rhinos were harmed.

Colonel Alpeheus Mokale said via Jacaranda 94.2 that a rifle was also confiscated from the poachers.

We received information that people were hunting rhinos at a certain farm in Lephalale. We also seized a 0.30 rifle.

The men are believed to be part of a rhino poaching syndicate and police are hopeful this arrest will shed additional light on the rhino killing spree that has gripped South Africa.

Rhino poaching has reached epidemic proportions, with at least 182 rhinos lost to the slaughter this year.

The killing is fueled by consumer markets for rhino horn in China and Vietnam, where traditional medicines containing rhino horn are in high demand – despite the fact rhino horn has been extensively analyzed and actually contains no medical properties whatsoever.

Source: Jacaranda 94.2

Image: istock.com

A public hearing regarding the case of illegally transporting two rhino horns was reportedly held earlier this week in Jiangnan District Court of Nanning City, Guangxi Province.

The prosecuting attorney recommended that the suspect – a TCM practitioner who confessed to being a repeat offender – be sentenced to ten years in prison.

The court heard the following on August 24, 2010:

On December 30, 2009, the suspect purchased two rhino horns for CNY 430,000.00 (USD 63,245.00) from a Vietnamese national at the center square of Pingxiang City, which borders Vietnam. 

After acquiring the horns, he took a taxi to Nanning City. However, he was arrested by the police when he passed the Wu Yu toll station on Nanyou highway.

The police found two rhino horns in a green paper bag, worth an estimated CNY 830,000.00 (USD 122,077.00). 

Suspect admits to smuggling rhino horns ‘many times’ – then changes story

The prosecutor informed the court that the suspect was already on record claiming to have transported and traded rhino horns “many times”.

Upon being arrested, the suspect confessed to the police that he made trips into Vietnam to check out the rhino horns before making exchanges in Pingxiang. He would then smuggle the rhino horns to Guangzhou via Nanning.

However, the suspect changed his story in court and said it was the first time he had smuggled rhino horn. He claimed the purpose was not for profits, but for the treatment of his high blood pressure and hepatitis. 

Defense lawyers presented medical records to support the suspect’s claim, and asked that a light sentence be given, since the rhino horns were allegedly for personal use and not for profit.

Prosecutor recommends 10 years in jail

The prosecutor pointed out that the suspect had been in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) business for over ten years, and had engaged in smuggling rhino horn on several occasions, for the purpose of selling it illegally from his place of business.

A ten year prison sentence was recommended by the prosecution, and the court is expected to issue a verdict “soon”.

Slaughtering rhinos for traditional medicine

Source: Guangxi News Network; translation provided by TRAFFIC

A vigorous debate about the controversial idea of legalizing trade in rhino horn has erupted and is now in full swing on social media networks and the blogosphere.

Supporters such as Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) claim that legal trade would be tightly monitored and a way to raise funds for rhino conservation. Opponents point out that legal trade would increase demand for rhino horn products and make poaching even more profitable by creating avenues to launder illegal rhino horn.

In this article, we take a look at some of the existing opportunities for limited legal trade relating to rhino horn and how they may already be contributing to illegal trade, and ultimately, killing rhinos.

1. Trophy hunting

Although trophy hunting of rhino is legal in South Africa, several troubling incidents point to trophy hunting as a laundering vehicle for illegal rhino horn.

For example, two high-profile professional hunters, George Fletcher of Sandhurst Safaris and Gert Saaiman of Saaiman Hunting Safaris, were found to be at the center of a rhino poaching syndicate bust.

According to a report filed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), professional hunters Saaiman and Fletcher are among those awaiting trial in October 2010 for racketeering, money laundering, various counts of theft, malicious damage to property and contraventions of the various provincial Conservation Acts and the Aviation Act.

A helicopter and small Aerostar plane belonging to Saaiman were among the assets seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU)

It is alleged that the accused committed these offences as members of a group consisting of hunters, a pilot, middlemen (agents) and buyers, who illegally hunted rhinos and traded in the horns stolen from the rhino carcasses.

The Aerostar was used to locate the rhinos in various National Parks around the country. It was also used to transport poachers to different national parks where the rhinos were spotted. The rhinos would be shot and dehorned.

The Aerostar would then be used to transport horns to George Fletcher’s farm in Tosca.

Investigations by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC also revealed Vietnamese nationals gained access to rhino horn by posing as trophy hunting “clients” in South Africa.

The findings strongly suggest that the trophy hunt operators were aware of this pattern and were enjoying additional profits because of their clients’ intentions.

The frequent involvement of a small number of Vietnamese nationals, often on the same game ranches repeatedly; numerous cases whereby Vietnamese “trophy hunters” paid above market price for rhino hunts, but then had to be instructed how to shoot and would completely forego any proper trophy preparation; the issuance of export permits for rhino trophies to Vietnamese nationals who had previously been identified in ongoing rhino crime investigations …

In a recent rhino horn smuggling case, a Vietnamese court sentenced Tran Van Lap of Hanoi to three years in jail for attempting to transport five rhino horns from South Africa to Vietnam.

It is noteworthy that four of the horns were obtained by Lap via a “legal” trophy hunt – however, authorities suspected that the documentation had been falsified. Next page >>

An armed gang of eight to ten men tied up two workers at a Limpopo farm located between Modimolle and Vaalwater, and then proceeded to kill two rhinos and saw off their horns.

This shocking attack reportedly occurred in broad daylight on Monday afternoon.

The Independent Online quoted police spokesperson Ronel Otto, who earlier spoke with an SABC broadcaster.

Between eight to ten suspects, armed, arrived on the farm this afternoon.

They then overpowered two workers on the farm, a man and a woman in their 40s. They then tied them up and threatened them with firearms and went to a special enclosure where the rhinos are kept.

And they shot and they killed two rhinos and they cut off their horns and fled.

According to the website Stop Rhino Poaching, which provides a running total of rhinos killed in southern Africa, at least 182 rhinos have been slaughtered so far in 2010.

Killing rhinos for traditional medicines in China and Vietnam

Recent research by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC revealed that most rhino horn leaving southern Africa is destined for consumer markets in China and Vietnam. Rhino horn is obtained illegally from poached rhinos and quasi-legally after being laundered via South African trophy hunts.

Rhino horn has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for decades, and prescribed for a wide range of ailments, including fever, anxiety, and boils. Practitioners have also advised rhino horn for keeping the devil away. Within the last five years, Vietnam has emerged as another significant destination for illegal rhino horn from South Africa, with rhino horn being sold online and in retail shops.

However, any supposed “healing benefit” derived from rhino horn is nothing more than an unfortunate myth. Rhino horn has been extensively tested and analyzed, and has been found to contain no medical properties whatsoever.

Sources: Independent Online; Stop Rhino Poaching website

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Four rhino poachers were arrested Saturday as they were plotting to kill rhinos in Assam’s Orang National Park. Thanks to a tip, authorities raided a house in Bihudia village, which is located near the edge of the park.

On Sunday, two more poachers were arrested. Unfortunately, they had already obtained a rhino horn.

Four poachers arrested on Saturday

The poachers arrested on Saturday have been identified as Md Joynaluddin, aka Junu, from Morigaon district; Md Abbas Ali, from Sonitpur district; Lamkholen, from the Manja Bazaar area in Karbi Anglong; and Alen Khonsai, from Burah Bazar in Dimapur, Nagaland.

Divisional Forest Officer Sushil K. Daila said via The Telegraph that Joynaludden was responsible for several rhino killings in both Orang and Kaziranga National Parks.

The gang was plotting a rhino killing expedition when officials found them inside a residence.

We have recovered several items, including food and medicine and mosquito repellents from the group. They were getting ready to enter the park last night.

They were in a particular house, making plans to kill rhinos. They had hidden the rifle somewhere. Interrogation is on.

Mr. Daila added that the poachers had information about two rhinos in the Dhuni area of the park, and were planning to kill them.

Two more arrests on Sunday

Following Saturday’s success, two more poachers, identified as Nabib Ali and Majibur Rahman from Borsola village, were arrested.

According to media sources, the duo was apprehended in Assam’s Morigaon district, and a pistol was confiscated.

Sadly, the poachers were in possession of a rhino horn, which authorities suspect is from Orang National Park.

There is no word yet on whether or not the two incidents are related.

Rhino poaching gangs

Rhino poaching gangs operating in Orang and Kaziranga National Parks are usually from the notorious illegal wildlife trading hub of Dimapur, Nagaland. They are often from the Karbi Anglong area as well.

To learn more about these rhino poaching gangs, check out India’s Rhino Poaching Gangs: A Closer Look.

No medicinal value in rhino horn

Today, the consumer markets for illegal rhino horn are concentrated in China and Vietnam, where rhino horn is considered a key ingredient in traditional medicines.

However, the notion of rhino horn’s “healing properties” is nothing more than a persistent cultural myth. Rhino horn has been extensively analyzed and the truth is that is has no medicinal value whatsoever.

Watch Dr. Raj Amin of the Zoological Society of London explain that rhino horn has the same medicinal effect as chewing your own nails:

For additional public awareness videos and materials, visit the Campaigns page on the Saving Rhinos website.

Sources: The Telegraph; NDTV; India Blooms

Image: Wikimedia Commons