RHINO DEHORNING – A LAST RESORT TO CONTAIN POACHING IN KZN?
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is dehorning its rhinos to contain high levels of poaching in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park
During 2023, KwaZulu-Natal – and the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) in particular – recorded its highest ever rhino poaching figures with the loss of 325 rhinos out of a national total of 499. As in previous years, the national parks remained the targets of rhino poachers with 307 of the fatalities recorded in the HiP, a conservation area that has, up until now, been celebrated as one of the historical saviours of Africa’s endangered rhinos.
For Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, that was a step too far. After years of unrelenting efforts to contain the influx of poachers, many of which have been recruited from its own ranks or surrounding communities, the conservation authority has taken decisive action and, in collaboration with WWF South Africa, decided to dehorn the survivors in the park.
The programme, which started on April 8, is now well under way.
Noting the gravity of this decision, Ezemvelo CEO, Sihle Mkhize, said: “It is with a heavy heart that the organisation has decided to dehorn. Rhino dehorning goes against the grain of what we stand for but the persistent threat posed by poachers has necessitated more drastic measures to protect our rhinos.”
Although dehorning rhinos is not a long-term solution to the continued poaching that is driven by demand for rhino horn as a traditional medicine and for carvings in many Asian countries, it is a temporary way of dissuading poachers from targeting rhinos in a particular area whilst other anti-poaching mechanisms are ramped up.
The thinking behind the process is that, if there is no horn, then wildlife criminals will move on to target another animal with a horn that will deliver a more lucrative harvest. However, the converse has also proved true with poachers shooting rhinos as revenge for dehorning or killing animals to retrieve the small among of horn that has been left behind.
Apart from the stress of darting the animals in order to remove the horns using chain saws, dehorning does not in any way harm the animal.
Just like human fingernails and hair, rhino horn is made up of a fibrous protein called keratin which grows back at a rate of 6 – 8.5 cm per year for the anterior horn and 2.5 – 5 cm per annum for the posterior horn.
A COMMODITY WORTH MORE THAN GOLD
Despite a host of figures being bandied around and claims that rhino horn is worth more than cocaine on the illicit wildlife market, the actual price tag for rhino horn still remains unclear.
According to the Wildlife Justice Commission, rhino horn is priced anywhere between USD 3 000 and USD 17 000 per kilogram, providing sufficient incentive for local communities to assist criminal syndicates with their poaching activities.
Wikipedia notes that the international trade ban of rhino horn has created a lucrative black-market estimated at $20 billion a year with rhino horn valued at as much as $60,000 per kilogram – more than its weight in gold.
Both home to the world’s largest rhino population and the epicentre of rhino poaching, South Africa is estimated to have lost more than 40% of its rhino population over the past 40 years with the Kruger Park, up until now the chief target of poachers, seeing its rhino population plummet by as much as 70%.
Millions of rands worth of local and foreign aid has resulted in concrete efforts to contain poaching with varied levels of success. Dehorning is by no means a cheaper way of responding and requires repeated efforts every 18 to 24 months.
Nevertheless, Mkhize extended heartfelt gratitude to WWF for their pivotal financial support for the implementation of the programme, emphasising the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration for conservation success. He underscored the significance of creating an enabling environment for private sector service providers, NGOs and local communities to collectively safeguard wildlife.
DEHORNING A LAST RESORT
Sadly, dehorning rhinos is not seen as an anti-poaching measure of choice even amongst the most staunch conservationists. Private game reserves, faced with the ever-escalating costs of anti-poaching methods, capitulated first with KZN’s Nambiti Private Game Reserve dehorning its rhinos in 2012, Tala Game Reserve following in 2014, the Mnayoni Private Game Reserve initiating a similar programme in 2015 and &BEYOND Phinda taking this drastic step in 2016.
In 2019, private reserves within the greater Kruger National Park began dehorning their rhinos.
By holding out, state run conservation facilities probably set themselves up as the primary targets for rhino poaching.
WWF South Africa’s CEO Dr Morné du Plessis said: “A decision to dehorn is never taken lightly and is only one of a wide range of interventions which together seek to simultaneously remove the potential reward of rhino poaching while increasing the likelihood of being caught.
“The province of KZN has played a critical role in rhino conservation in Africa which is why we are committing resources towards supporting the authorities in their efforts to protect rhinos. Beyond the dehorning programme, we will also be supporting Ezemvelo in its broader efforts to implement the Ezemvelo KZN Guardianship Strategy for Rhinoceros.”
The dehorning initiative marks a pivotal moment in Ezemvelo’s anti-poaching efforts, aligning with proven strategies implemented elsewhere, such as in Kruger National Park. Mkhize emphasized that while dehorning is not a panacea, it forms part of a comprehensive approach to disincentivise poachers targeting horned animals.
He says that Ezemvelo remains committed to the implementation of the recently approved Ezemvelo KZN Guardianship Strategy for Rhinoceros which aims to significantly reduce poaching incidents. This strategy, endorsed by the KwaZulu Natal Nature Conservation Board, sets ambitious targets to mitigate poaching, complementing ongoing efforts which include intensification of anti-poaching patrols and surveillance, improvement of boundary fences and ranger living conditions, integrity testing and, now, dehorning.
The strategy dovetails with a number of recently reported initiatives aimed at fighting rhino poaching.
These include:
* The investment of approximately R11 million by the KZN province to erect a smart fence to cover a significant portion of the park where poaching levels are high
* Financial support of approximately R40 million by the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to extend the area covered by the smart fence around the park
* Drastically increasing the numbers of field rangers from 45 to 88
* Introducing integrity testing among frontline staff
* Installing trackers in all vehicles
* Improving relations with adjacent communities
* Adding more helicopter hours and adding the services of helicopter with night vision capability
* The appointment of Sthembiso Ndlovu as the Senior Manager: Rhino Protection
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
There is no definitive research into either the impact that dehorning has on the rhinos themselves or on the humans who travel extensive distances to see them as one of the Big 5.
In 2018 – prior to the Covid driven travel bans that decimated the tourism industry – a State of Tourism Report circulated by National government recorded the total contribution of tourism to the local GDP at R354.9 billion while the direct contribution to the economy was R130 billion.
Common sense tells us that a large portion of this and of lucrative international incoming travel comes from eco-tourism. The question remains, though, will visitors experience the same thrill in seeing a dehorned rhino? Just as collared big cats are less valued by wildlife photographers, dehorned rhinos might just be something of a disappointment to traveller pursuing the ultimate authentic wildlife experience.
That said, the question remains as to whether the survival of a species can be measured in rands and whether tourism should be the measure of what can be done to get poachers to put down their weapons.
As the conservation efforts of bodies like Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife continue, policy makers are also trying to intervene.
Cabinet recently approved a policy position submitted by Environment Minister Barbara Creecy to close lion facilities, end commercial exploitation of lions and the captive breeding of big cats and rhinos. It also agreed to limit the live export of lions, elephants, leopards and both rhino species to only habitats within Africa, curbing the growing Asian demand for zoo specimens.
