At the heart of rhino conservation

Gallery Video

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The dehorning of rhino has become a necesarry evil to curb the even greater threat of poaching, resulting in the extinction of this species.

This week, local farmer Kobus Crous, despite having resisted the idea initially, dehorned two rhino on this farm, Bergsig, just outside Hartenbos.

Crous, a devout lover of wild life, suffered the loss of two rhino in recent years that were poached for their horns on his property. Since, he dehorns his rhino every two years.

According to Crous, it is estimated that rhino horns grow at an average of about 1kg per year.

"I was left no other choice but to dehorn my rhino. It is a horrible experience for me and very delicate as far as the animal is concerned. I stay at a distance to make sure the rhino is okay, but I don't want to personally get involved, cutting off the horns," Crous admitted.

Unusual at this week's dehorning operation, was the presence of a film crew from Dallas, Texas, representing the Dallas Safari Club (DSC).

This non-profit conservation organisation works towards raising funds for wildlife conservation around the globe.

DSC is a member of the United Nations International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Founded in 1972, the DSC contributes millions of dollars towards conservation in order to educate the youth and general public, as well as promoting and protecting the right of hunters worldwide.

Rhinos are delicate
Television producer and host Blake Barnett and his crew were hands-on at the dehorning at Bergsig on Wednesday. The filming, which is part of an extensive visit to Southern Africa, will be featured in a popular programme, Trailing the Hunter's Moon, to be broadcast on the Sportsman's Channel in 2018, according to Barnett.

Prior to arriving at Bergsig, the crew filmed in Graaff Reinet with seasoned wildlife veterinarian Dr Willem Burger. Dr Burger led the seamless dehorning operation on Wednesday with field specialist Carlo van Tonder from CapeNature monitoring the procedure involving a rhino bull and a cow.

"Today was fantastic. It is unfortunate we have to administer this process due to poaching. It was a first for me to be feet on the ground in South Africa to really take part in the process and watch what's going on in terms of rhino conservation. Now I can take this information back to the States to create more awareness."

Barnett described rhino as very delicate.

"Farmers like Cobus are the good stewards of the land, fighting the good fight to protect this species. It is critical to raise awareness and spread the facts. Too many people feed off emotion. I am a hunter and I am a conservationist. We have to pull together - hunters and those on the other side.

"It's time to speak up, it's time to have a voice and it's also time to listen. Let's not all be so opinionated just because we don't want to see the rhino horn removed.

"I don't want to see the horn removed, but I do want to see the rhino here forever. I hope that eventually they will make the trade in rhino horn legal, which will make them less valuable on the black market scale. There will be less competition and we will have rhinos around for the rest of our lives."

Hunting and conserving
According to Barnett, hunting is a sustainable form of wildlife conservation.

"The facts are proven: without hunting wildlife, conservation suffers. The revenue coming into different countries helps provide many jobs.

"If we take away jobs, those people working for hunting outfits find work with poaching groups. We do our best to raise money back home to put feet on the ground, such as with anti-poaching units around the world to conserve wildlife."

Veterinarian Dr Burger commended the DSC crew for their part in creating awareness regarding commercial farming with wildlife in South Africa.

In 2016 Dr Burger was instrumental in establishing the African Wildlife Conservation Foundation. "We operate as a non-profit organisation, offering our expertise free of charge to work with endangered, CITES-listed species such as rhino, leopard and several birds of prey."

Click here for a photo gallery.

Watch a short video here: