Namibia told to prepare for poaching war

Namibia must prepare itself for a war against poachers who have military experience and that shoot to kill. This was said this week at the launch of a new organisation called HoRN.Nam, comprised of Namibian rhino owners. Speakers at the event said that if poaching continues unabated in Namibia and the rest of Africa, the continent will lose all its rhino and elephant within the next seven years. Also highlighted were inexperienced policing and the poor management of protected areas, which is also playing a huge role in the increased poaching incidents in Africa. “We are dealing with a military onslaught here. Be prepared,” said Conservation Outcomes Chief Executive Officer Brian Harris. According to him poaching is not what it used to be. “It is a sophisticated group of people, mostly ex-military men. We are not dealing with the subsistence poacher anymore and we need to accept the reality.” Pelham Jones from the Private Rhinos Association of South Africa said Namibia is currently faced with the same situation his country faced in 2008, when its rhino were first targeted by poachers. “Prepare yourself for a war. Do not think that the poachers do not know where or who you are because they know. Be prepared to go to war.” Jones further warned, “We are not playing games here. These individuals will shoot to kill you to avoid arrest.” Current situation Elephant and rhino poaching is out of control in Africa, said Harris, adding that these animals only have seven years left on the continent before they become extinct, should poaching continue in the way that it is currently happening. About 40 000 elephant were killed in 2012, while more than 1 000 rhino were killed last year. In Namibia, 121 elephant have been killed in the past two and a half years, while five rhino have already been poached this year. Harris said a poacher can make up to US$8 000 (N$85 360) for a medium-sized elephant, while a rhino horn a poacher can get as much as US$15 000 (N$160 000). He said currently there is little risk involved in poaching in Africa. “Poachers are coming in and there is little risk involved. It does not take much effort to kill the animal, but there is a huge incentive for the poachers.” Harris stressed that most law enforcement is of a reactive nature, making poaching “free for all”. According to him the poor management of protective areas brought about the current poaching crisis in Africa. “The problem set in at management level. There is inadequate ranger training to deal with the poaching threat. Poachers are sophisticated and even have military experience.” Harris said that protected area territorial integrity has become severely challenged, and commercial poaching syndicates and organised crime identified this window of opportunity before the shortcoming could be addressed. He said that restoring protected area integrity through training and the professional management of a scout and guard corps will take as much as two years to achieve. He further stressed the importance of crime scene investigation and said that while some horns are hacked off, others are removed carefully. Some poachers even remove the eyes or the female genitalia of the rhino. Each crime scene can tell an expert who may have been involved in the poaching, as the modus operandi is different. “Very few police know how to handle a poaching crime scene and because of inexperience the evidence at the scene is destroyed,” Harris said. According to him nobody should be allowed to approach the crime scene if they do not know how to manage it. Legalising rhino horn trade Jones said that a total of 100 000 rhino were killed across Africa in the last 45 years, while 20 range countries have lost all their rhino, indicating that the ban on trading rhino horn is clearly not stopping poachers. Discussing the legalisation of the rhino horn trade and whether this will satisfy demand or further fuel it, Jones said people buy rhino horn as a status symbol, but if it is available on street corners it will no longer be a status symbol. “If we are carrying on as we are doing, there will be no rhino left. We have to try something. We are between a rock and a hard place, but legalising the rhino horn trade will be like removing the sparkle from the product. It will lose its allure. By making it legally available as a common product its demand will diminish,” said Jones. He said the benefits of legalising the rhino horn trade is that it will collapse the illegal activities currently taking place and generate conservation revenue that can be used by national, provincial and private parks. At this stage rhino horn stockpiles are not being used to generate conservation revenue. Save the Rhino Trust Namibia CEO Marcia Fargnoli was of the opinion that the demand will grow for rhino horn if its trade is legalised. According to her studies have been done that indicate if rhino horn is legalised the demand for the product in Vietnam will increase even more. She stressed that legalising the rhino horn trade will send the wrong message to the Vietnamese that it is a common product. “People will still to poach a rhino even for a small amount of horn.” OKAHANDJA ELLANIE SMIT