SA makes dodgy rhino deals

It notes that many of SA's white rhino have ended up in the hands of Chinese and Vietnamese entrepreneurs linked to that industry, where rhino horn is used as a tonic and a traditional cure-all. This is despite the recent tightening of export permit regulations under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). In 2010, says the report, two Cites-listed rhino were exported to a company called Thai Skin and Hide - seemingly in complete defiance of international protocols under Cites which seek to ensure that rhino may only be exported to zoological institutions with adequate facilities, a strong conservation agenda and with no connection to the trade in animal body parts and derivatives. According to the report, the revelations come at a time when a powerful lobby is seeking to convince the international community to decriminalise the rhino horn trade, arguing that legal trade would reduce incentives for poaching the endangered animals. The report notes statistics provided by Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa, in reply to parliamentary questions in April and May this year, reveal that 101 live white rhino have been exported from SA since 2007. But the real number could be far higher; Cites's own data shows that 193 rhino were exported from SA between 2007 and 2010 alone. According to Cites, an increasingly unregulated wildlife trade has become a major factor in the decline of species of animals and plants, and member countries are supposed to control a list of species that are endangered or at risk of becoming endangered due to inadequate control of trade, the report states. Full Weekend Argus report (subscription needed)

SA has lost 245 rhinos to illegal hunting activities since the beginning of the year, the Department of Environmental Affairs says. According to a report on the Times LIVE site, environmental spokesperson Albi Modise said 161 people had been arrested in connection with illegal rhino horns. The latest statistics indicate the Kruger National Park has lost 147 rhinos, which accounts for more than half of the total rhino killings that have taken place this year. Limpopo province suffered 34 rhino killings, while the North West lost 24 and KwaZulu-Natal, 25. In Mpumalanga eight rhinos were illegally hunted. The Eastern Cape lost three and the Western Cape lost one. Modise said of the 161 people arrested, 138 were poachers, 10 were receivers or couriers of illegal rhino horn, six more were couriers or buyers and seven were exporters. The department urged all South Africans to report incidents of rhino poaching. Full report in The Times

A donation of more than R25m from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will be used to create a forensic laboratory in SA dedicated to analysing DNA from stolen rhino horns. A report in The Herald notes that this is another initiative to fight the increased threat to rhinos as the demand for their horns grows internationally. According to the report, the multimillion-rand project, developed in cooperation with the Environmental Affairs Department, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), will focus on using DNA tests to help establish where the horns came from and whether they were removed illegally from South Africa. The analysis could be used in court as evidence against poachers. Environmental Affairs spokesperson Albi Modise said South African experts were already on board to test DNA samples from horns believed to have been stolen here, according to the report which notes the experts will travel to Hong Kong next month to get samples of DNA from horns intercepted there. Full report in The Herald (subscription needed)

Moving on to court matters, an alleged rhino horn smuggler and former policeman, Joseph 'Big Joe' Nyalunga (48), was confronted with pictures of alleged police torture found on his camera when he applied for bail in the White River Magistrate's Court. According to a Beeld report, photographs submitted in court were allegedly found on Nyalunga's camera after his arrest on 2 March in Hazyview, Mpumalanga. The report notes police confiscated four rhino horns, R60 000 in his bakkie and horns he allegedly bought in a police trap the previous day. Investigating officer Francois Vermaak testified that the police also found R5.1m cash in a trunk in Nyalunga's home after his arrest, the report states. It says the photographs allegedly found on his camera were submitted to prove that Nyalunga was present during the torture of an unidentified man. 'The man whose face can be seen on the photographs seems frightened,' Vermaak testified, according to the report. Vermaak said the photographs illustrate a typical torture technique. Magistrate Elmarie Theron requested the state and defence to submit written heads of argument for the bail application. Judgment is expected on 6 July, the report states. Full Beeld report

The outcry over rhino poaching was cited as being a weighty factor in the denial of bail to three men allegedly caught in a police trap trying to sell a horn on Durban's beachfront in March, says a report in The Mercury. 'The court will not succumb to public pressure but will give consideration to the public outburst... it cannot shut its eyes and ears to what is going on,' Magistrate Anita Govender is quoted in the report as saying. The other consideration, she said, in refusing bail to Rajen Moodley, Sithembiso Luthuli and Samkelo Sibiya, was that they had been 'caught red-handed' and their 'wheeling and dealing' had been caught on video, according to the report. It states the three were arrested in March after allegedly trying to sell a 6.5kg horn - worth R3m - to police agents for R1.5m. The report notes the three will appear in the Durban Magistrate's Court again on 6 July. Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)

Several animal rights activists crammed into the Pretoria North Regional Court where two veterinarians and a professional hunter appeared last week. A report in The Citizen states that the accused are among eight people arrested last year on charges relating to the possession and distribution of a tranquillising drug commonly used by rhino poachers. Charges against five of the suspects were withdrawn in April, reportedly because of insufficient evidence. The three accused include Dr Douw Grobler, an animal conservation expert and formerly head of wildlife capturing and veterinary services at the Kruger National Park. He was charged together with private vet Dr Johannes Gerhardus Kruger, and professional hunter and animal farmer Hugo Ras. It is alleged that the group contributed to rhino poaching by supplying a poaching syndicate with tranquillisers. The M99 drug, also called etorphine, was allegedly used to dart rhinos to enable the removal of their horns. The matter was postponed to 19 June. Activists said they would closely follow the case until its conclusion. Pretoria-based animal rights group - Outraged SA Citizens Against Poaching said government had to urgently improve awareness of poaching. Full report in The Citizen

A ranger from the Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock was gored by a rhino during a routine patrol last week, notes a report in The Herald. Donovan Antonie (28) was in a stable condition in the St George's Hospital in Port Elizabeth. Three other rangers on patrol with Antonie when they surprised the rhino - which they believe had just given birth - escaped injury. Antonie was flown from the Cradock Hospital to Nelson Mandela Bay with chest and stomach injuries. Park spokesperson Megan Taplin said such an attack was rare as rhinos had poor vision and usually only charged when they felt threatened. The incident was being treated as an accident and no investigation would be conducted, she said, according to the report. Full report in The Herald (subscription needed)