Possibly controversial measures approved by government to dehorn black rhinos in order to discourage poaching are making its debut in Namibia.
In a world first intervention by a state, the sweeping measures might forever change the way rhinos appear in nature if the procedure is completed. Although rhino horns do grow back, the government decision could become an ongoing stra-tegy.
The intention to sell the horns commercially still depends on the approval of international wildlife institutions.
In an attempt to root out poaching, the Namibian government has demonstrated its determination with Cabinet giving the green light to dehorn the black rhinos, which at this stage all belong to the state.
The radical step to dehorn black rhinos will follow a two-pronged approach to combat the crime that has increased drastically over the past year.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) has been instructed to start with the dehorning of state-owned rhinos (black rhinos) in areas where poaching has severely escalated.
At the same time, an elite anti-poaching task force has been established to continue the fight against rhino and elephant poachers. During the past nine months alone, 33 elephants have been poached for their tusks and 14 rhinos for their horns in the northern regions. According to MET deputy minister, Pohamba Shifeta, the intensification of poaching has led to a decision to dehorn. “This is considered to be one of the best ways to take control of illegal poaching. We have already proceeded with the dehorning of the rhinos in the Kunene and Erongo regions,” Shifeta elaborated.
“The process to dehorn rhinos is quite a simple one and painless,” Jaco Muller, chairman of Help our Rhinos Now Namibia (HoRN.Nam), explains. “It is a 20 minute process where the rhino will be darted with M99 by a veterinarian, which is basically an anesthetic.
A sabre saw is then used to cut the horn off the rhino, leaving approximately eight centimeters of it on the rhino.”
Commercial farmers acting as custodians of the state-owned rhinos, who wish to proceed with the dehorning, can apply at the MET to do so, where an MET official must be present during the operation of the dehorning, after which they can then take the horn to stockpile it at a safe place.
“It does not make sense to destroy the horns collected like other countries do, when wildlife conservancies in Namibia can benefit from it.
Depending on how much is collected, we are considering to apply for the legal trade in both rhino horn and elephant tusks at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES),” Shifeta stated. Shifeta said money collected would be paid into the Ministry’s Wildlife Trust to help conservancies all over Namibia in their development, and to strengthen their security measures.
In the meantime, four members of the MET and 14 from Nampol were recruited to attend a week-long training session at the Waterberg Plateau Park in the Otjozondjupa Region to form an elite anti-poaching task force.
In a world first intervention by a state, the sweeping measures might forever change the way rhinos appear in nature if the procedure is completed. Although rhino horns do grow back, the government decision could become an ongoing stra-tegy.
The intention to sell the horns commercially still depends on the approval of international wildlife institutions.
In an attempt to root out poaching, the Namibian government has demonstrated its determination with Cabinet giving the green light to dehorn the black rhinos, which at this stage all belong to the state.
The radical step to dehorn black rhinos will follow a two-pronged approach to combat the crime that has increased drastically over the past year.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) has been instructed to start with the dehorning of state-owned rhinos (black rhinos) in areas where poaching has severely escalated.
At the same time, an elite anti-poaching task force has been established to continue the fight against rhino and elephant poachers. During the past nine months alone, 33 elephants have been poached for their tusks and 14 rhinos for their horns in the northern regions. According to MET deputy minister, Pohamba Shifeta, the intensification of poaching has led to a decision to dehorn. “This is considered to be one of the best ways to take control of illegal poaching. We have already proceeded with the dehorning of the rhinos in the Kunene and Erongo regions,” Shifeta elaborated.
“The process to dehorn rhinos is quite a simple one and painless,” Jaco Muller, chairman of Help our Rhinos Now Namibia (HoRN.Nam), explains. “It is a 20 minute process where the rhino will be darted with M99 by a veterinarian, which is basically an anesthetic.
A sabre saw is then used to cut the horn off the rhino, leaving approximately eight centimeters of it on the rhino.”
Commercial farmers acting as custodians of the state-owned rhinos, who wish to proceed with the dehorning, can apply at the MET to do so, where an MET official must be present during the operation of the dehorning, after which they can then take the horn to stockpile it at a safe place.
“It does not make sense to destroy the horns collected like other countries do, when wildlife conservancies in Namibia can benefit from it.
Depending on how much is collected, we are considering to apply for the legal trade in both rhino horn and elephant tusks at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES),” Shifeta stated. Shifeta said money collected would be paid into the Ministry’s Wildlife Trust to help conservancies all over Namibia in their development, and to strengthen their security measures.
In the meantime, four members of the MET and 14 from Nampol were recruited to attend a week-long training session at the Waterberg Plateau Park in the Otjozondjupa Region to form an elite anti-poaching task force.
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