Ian Player finds it difficult to understand why there continues to be resistance to legalising the sale of rhino horn that has been gathered through natural mortality.
The recent killing of yet another black rhino in the Ozabeni area of Lake St Lucia highlights the serious situation we are facing. The area probably has the best protection in the country.
With 620 rhino killed so far this year and some 2 700 since 2008, it should be clear to everyone that even with the best protective measures, we are losing rhino at an unacceptable rate.
I was the officer at Umfolozi Game Reserve with Hendrik van Schoor and we did the first aerial count of the white rhino in 1953. There were 437.
In 1958 I was appointed senior ranger in charge of Umfolozi and, thanks to dedicated protection services, by 1962 the rhino population had risen to more than 600.
This enabled me and my wonderful team of men, among them Nick Steele and Magqubu Ntombela, to launch Operation Rhino, and the distribution of rhino to former habitats and overseas destinations. The full story is told in the new edition of The White Rhino Saga and Graham Linscott’s biography Into the River of Life.
In 1970, the rhino were put back on the hunting list and this led to an explosion of game ranches and the rhino population.
Today, the number of white rhino worldwide is probably in the region of 18 000. About 85 percent of all rhinos are in South Africa, which puts us in the forefront of rhino conservation.
All this has come at a cost, emotionally and physically. In my particular case, because of bad falls, drugs in the eyes and other accidents, my 87-year-old body is in constant pain. I bear the pain without regret because I believe we did a service to the world of conservation.
To be continually apprised of the incessant killing and the terrible maiming with chainsaws cutting deep into the heads of live rhino causes me distress, which words will never adequately describe.
The poor white rhino is an innocent animal and unaggressive. It is no wonder the early people at Mapungubwe made a golden statue of it and buried it in the grave of one of their chiefs. It was a god to them because of its peaceful disposition.
I find it extremely difficult to understand why there continues to be resistance to legalising the sale of rhino horn that has been gathered through natural mortality.
I give full marks to Dr Bandile Mkhize and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife for their efforts to legalise the sale. I am sure that it would be welcomed by the Chinese people who have to bear the stigma, along with Vietnam, of being the biggest poachers.
When is common sense going to take precedence over prejudice, where those against legalisation do not come up with any alternative or at least allow a trial? It is not only the rhino that is suffering, but local communities adjacent to the parks who could benefit from the money made through legal sales.
* Letter written by Ian Player in Durban.
** The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Newspapers.
The Mercury