In the past few months a war of words has erupted between SANParks and Animal Rights Africa over the management of rhinoceroses in South Africa’s national and provincial parks, and on private land. But despite SANParks’ angry kneejerk response there is overwhelming national and international concern about the current protection and management of these animals in South Africa.

Animal Rights Africa believes that the public have a right to be concerned, to express their concerns, and to expect transparency and accountability from government agencies. By allowing ‘sustainable use’ to trump issues of conservation, biodiversity protection, and concern for the welfare of wildlife, government conservation agencies seem to be interpreting their mandate as custodians in a way that is contentious and contested. As a consequence they need to give a public account of how they discharge their custodial role, they need to be accountable to stakeholders, and they need to encourage public discourse rather than lashing out and shooting the messenger.

The Animal Rights Africa report, ‘Under Siege: Rhinoceroses in South Africa’, reveals that there is enormous suffering, a lack of centralised statistics and data, an uncoordinated response from authorities, insufficient enforcement and resources to adequately protect South Africa’s rhino population, and a general way of thinking that promotes killing instead of protection and respect.

South Africa is currently entrusted with the vast majority of the world’s population of rhinos, but at the same time it has become abundantly clear that not only are rhinoceroses in South Africa facing one of their worst threats ever as a species, but they are literally under siege.  The colossal growth of rhino killings (both legal and illegal), along with the concomitant insufficient anti‐poaching capacity, ability and poor record keeping means that rhinoceroses are facing untold suffering, exploitation and death. 

Poaching of rhinos in South Africa has reached the highest levels in decades. In the short space of 19 months, poaching of rhinoceroses in South Africa has accelerated to a rate almost six times higher than that of the previous eight years and at the same time South Africa has become the conduit of most of the rhinoceros horns leaving the African continent.

Generally, rhinos in South Africa face the following threats:
•    Government policies that promote overt consumptive use
•    Trophy hunting
•    Trade in live rhinoceroses
•    Demand for rhinoceros horn
•    Poaching
•    Inadequate field protection
•    Insufficient funds and resources to protect rhinoceroses
•    Lack of data (both nationally and provincially)
•    Statistical inconsistencies

The findings of the Animal Rights Africa report reveal that there is an urgent need to:
•    Improve data collection at both provincial and national level
•    Re‐examine the permit system under which government sellers of rhino abrogate their responsibility with regard to what happens to the animal once it has been sold
•    End all rhino hunting in South Africa because it has been proven to be as great a problem as poaching
•    Re‐examine the entire CITES reporting procedure because it is quite clear that limited and often inaccurate information is submitted
•    Open the government policy of ‘sustainable use’ and trophy hunting to public debate
•    Publicly publish through websites up‐to‐date applications for hunting permits and hunting statistics
•    Impose an immediate moratorium on all capture, sale, translocation and hunting of rhino in South Africa

The full report is available on the Animal Rights Africa website: http://www.animalrightsafrica.org/Archive/ARA_Report_Under_Siege_Rhinos_in_South_Africa2009.pdf