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Vigilance Needed to Save the Rhino
Rhinoceros populations across the globe hover at alarmingly low levels as rhino poaching continues worldwide. Rhinos are shot, snared, burned to death, speared, poisoned, or electrocuted. Concerted global action is vital to ensure the long-term viability of all five species of rhino: the Sumatran, Javan, Indian, black, and white. All five are endangered. In South Africa, white rhinos are captured live for sale to game reserves where they are auctioned off and hunted as trophies in "canned hunts." These hunts provide an easy kill for unsportsmanlike hunters who kill animals that may be caged, tethered or drugged and generally have no means of escape. Tens of thousands of dollars are paid for a single rhino kill. Black rhinos in Zimbabwe and Kenya have been butchered for their horns, which fetch huge sums on the black market in Asia. One use is in traditional Asian medicines. T.J. Tsarong's Handbook of Traditional Tibetan Drugs includes a prescription for "Ghya-rhoo," which includes "horn of rhino." Taken daily with hot water, this remedy promotes proper blood flow and alleviates pain in the kidneys and lower intestines. Rhino horn is also used as ornamental handles for daggers, particularly in Yemen. In Vietnam, illegal killing of the Javan rhino to supply these markets has led to a wild population numbering fewer than ten animals. In all of Indonesia, the number is only slightly better at about 50. Habitat destruction is also a significant mitigating factor in the rhinos' demise. According to a new report by Elizabeth Kemf and Nico van Strien, "Every landscape where the Asian rhino clings precariously to survival is suffering from the pressures of agricultural clearance, logging, encroachment by people in search of land, and commercial plantations for oil palm, wood pulp, coffee, rubber, cashew and cocoa." A targeted response by the global community can save the rhino. The United States plays its part through the 1994 Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act, which provides funds to various projects around the world. The fund established under this law has made recent grants for field equipment to a nongovernmental organization working to monitor the black rhino in one region of Namibia, for a genetic study of Javan rhino dung, for aerial monitoring systems for black rhinos in South Africa's Great Fish River Reserve, and for anti-poaching camps in India's national parks and reserves. Between 1999 and 2000, six African countries received $420,170 for projects related to black and white rhinos. In those same years, nine Asian countries received over half a million dollars as well for projects related to the three Asian rhinoceros species. The U.S. cannot do it alone, of course. The 158 Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) must continue to play a role in recommending actions designed to assess accurately rhino population levels and incidents of poaching and illegal trade in rhino parts and products made from them. For now, CITES Parties should promote the continued and vigorous implementation of a 1994 Resolution on Conservation of Rhinoceros in Asia and Africa, which urged the passage of domestic legislation to reduce the trade in rhino products and vigilant law enforcement to prevent poaching and apprehend offenders. Rhino conservation deserves special attention and targeted action since the rhino represents one of the most clear-cut examples of illegal trade driving a species to extinction. |
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