Rhino poaching rebounds from Covid-19 containment — p
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Rhino owners damn Creecy report - The Mail & Guardian
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Wildlife owners may target state
9 May 2021
Under threat: A blindfolded white rhino at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume in North West fights the effects of a tranquiliser before having its horn trimmed. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images
A class-action lawsuit by private rhino owners could be on the cards after a high-level panel recommended phasing out intensive management and rhino captive breeding operations.
It also recommended that trade in captive rhino horn should not be approved before the Rhino Committee of Inquiry recommendations are met. The committee was tasked several years ago to investigate the feasibility of the rhino horn trade.
Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.
Rhino poaching declined sharply in South Africa last year, according to the latest official data. In 2020, there were 394 known cases of rhino being killed for their horns, down 33% on the 594 that were killed in 2019. This is also well down from the peak of 1,215, a grim milestone reached in 2014. A surge in demand in newly affluent and fast-growing Asian economies such as Vietnam, where rhino horn is coveted for medicinal purposes as well as bling, is behind this dreadful state of affairs.
There are a number of factors behind the sharp drop in rhino poaching. Last year, lockdown measures to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic clearly curtailed the movement of rhino poaching syndicates. The poaching toll over the past decade has also reduced rhino numbers and fewer animals represent fewer opportunities to poachers. A recent Daily Maverick report pointed to statistics showing that the Kruger Park’s rhino population has fallen almost 70