RHINO CRISIS: PRESS RELEASE South Africa is heading towards a figure of 1000+ rhinos slaughtered per annum. By the time the next CITES Conference of Parties will be held in 2016 (CoP17), we will have lost between 3000 and 4000 rhinos since CoP16 (March 2013). All stakeholders’ efforts are uncoordinated and no solution to the problem is in sight. There is hardly any progress as evidenced by the day-to-day slaughter statistics. Focussed and decisive action is asked for. This mail, and future communications, aims to contribute towards that end. Following the widely supported motions of no confidence against the permit offices of the Limpopo Department of Economic Development Environment and Tourism (LEDET) which I tabled during the Wildlife Ranching SA Congress on the 10th April 2013, and also against the Northwest Province Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT) I, Wilhelm Johann Schack, ID 5210025047085, state as follows: ‘I live under fear of death each time a permit application to capture or transport rhinos is submitted to any of the permit offices of the said departments. Fear of death of more rhinos to be slaughtered soon, fear of death of more people’s lives being threatened in anti-poaching operations. Enough evidence has accumulated to date to point to the fact that sensitive information is being leaked out from these permit offices leading to poaching incidents while capture operators and rhino buyers and sellers are waiting for the permit process to be concluded.’ THUS THEREFORE I DEMAND: 1. That the permit offices of LEDET and DEDECT (and possibly offices of other provinces where similar suspicions are now surfacing) are put under administration with IMMEDIATE EFFECT. 2. That an independent judicial commission of enquiry be appointed to investigate these allegations and that a judge with extensive knowledge and relevant experience of this specific problem be appointed as soon as possible to head this commission of enquiry. 3. That one single office and one single person be appointed on a national level by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to regulate each and every rhino transaction in the country. There are to my estimate between 300 and 400 rhino transactions per annum which would require permits, meaning an average of one rhino permit application and issue per day, resulting in a very acceptable and practical work load for this national rhino office. The dedicated single office option will result in the following : High accountability of this new national rhino authority. No leakage of sensitive information to poaching syndicates. Drastic reduction of the permit issue lead time, and therefore in poaching onslaught preparation time for the poaching syndicates. Drastic reduction in the foothold for corruption. Drastic reduction in poaching incidents. 4. That the manual permit application and issuing system be dismissed forthwith and replaced with a high security online system regulated by the office of the new National Rhino Authority. 5. That a comprehensive National Rhino Survival Strategy be established as soon as possible. -END-
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 10:02:13 +0000
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