It was enough tranquilliser to knock out about 390 rhinos – and it is often the drug of choice of poachers.
This was the amount of M99, 26 bottles in all, that a Boksburg vet was found guilty of “handing over” to a lay person. His “puny” sentence by the SA Veterinary Council (SAVC) has caused an outcry from fellow vets and animal rights organisations.
Dr Johan Hendrik Meyer was found guilty of unprofessional conduct after contravening the Veterinary Professions Act after he dispensed M99 to a lay person “knowing that the medicine would be administered for the treatment of animals that are not under your professional care”.
The SAVC issued a suspension for a period of six months, which was then suspended for 10 years on condition that Meyer didn’t commit the crime again, paid a fine of R25 000 and wrote an article for the SAVC newsletter on the impact of the misuse of scheduled medicines on the veterinary profession. Details of the charge and punishment appeared in the November 2011 SAVC newsletter.
An e-mail in protest at the SAVC’s sentence was sent to several vets. The e-mail called the act disgusting, and said the vet in question should be jailed.
The use of M99 is strictly controlled. A vet, who wanted to remain anonymous, explained that the drug had to be kept under lock and key. Each use of M99 had to be recorded in the vet’s drug register, which can be audited at any time.
M99 has become the drug of choice of rhino poachers, in particular in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Their usual modus operandi is to use the tranquilliser to knock out the animal as it is quieter than using a firearm.
After the M99 has taken effect, poachers remove the rhino’s horn. M99 is not always used illegally for rhino poaching; there is also black-market trade in the drug for use in game capturing.
Estimates vary as to how many rhinos can be knocked out from one bottle of M99. One vet claimed between 10 and 12, another 15.
One wildlife vet called the sentence “ridiculous and puny”, and said the person in question should have had his veterinary licence permanently revoked. Another vet called the sentence embarrassing. The two vets were reluctant to have their names in print.
Miranda Jordan, spokeswoman for People for the Liberation of Animals, called the sentence “an absolute joke” . “This at a time when poachers are getting heavier sentences.” - The Star