| Rhino hunting permits for Vietnam halted |
| Tuesday, 10 April 2012 |
Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa has said South Africa will refuse
all rhino hunting permit applications from hunters in Vietnam, according to a
report by Business Day.
"We are
consulting at the diplomatic level and the outcome of the process will allow us
to refuse all applications for white rhinoceros hunting by foreign hunters whose
state of usual residence is Vietnam.”
She said the number of rhinos
poached this year had now reached an “alarming” 159, and the Kruger National
Park continued to bear the brunt of these losses, with rhinos poached in the
park reaching a staggering 95.
Ninety people have been arrested in
connection with rhino poaching, 21 of them in the Kruger Park.
“This is
no longer an environmental management problem. It has become a matter in which
we have involved all law enforcement agencies,” she said.
Whilst there
has been a lot of interest on the issue of SA approaching Cites Cop 16 with a
proposal to trade in rhino horn internationally, the minister said it was not in
a position to pronounce on the matter as internal preparatory processes had not
yet been finalised.
If a proposal were to be made, it would be at the
Cites meeting in 2019, where SA would have to gain the backing of two-thirds of
the signatories.
"It is a very sensitive issue, both nationally and
internationally, and we want to do all the analytical work to inform that
decision," she said.
Amendments to the norms and standards for marking
rhino horn and hunting white rhino for trophy hunting have been approved by
MINMEC and will come into effect as soon as it is published in the Government
Gazette.
Some of the key amendments include the marking of all live
rhinos sold and transported, horns have to be micro chipped, applicant hunters
would have to prove membership of a hunting association or of previous hunting
experience, a person may only hunt and export one rhino for trophy purposes
within a 12-month period, and rhino hunts must take place under the supervision
of a conservation official, preferably an environmental management inspector
from the province concerned.
The minister encouraged private landowners
to register their rhino horn stockpiles with the respective provincial
conservation authorities. “It is a legal requirement that a permit is obtained
to possess rhino horn. The rhino horn should also be included in a register and
be micro-chipped.
“We are continuing to do research work to find more
innovative mechanisms to curb rhino poaching. We once again make a call to
members of the public to continue with all efforts they have mounted and call
for more innovations and involvement of the South African
society.”
The Editor
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| By : Tourism Update |