The war on rhinos continues to rage. Two men were arrested in Port Elizabeth on February 12 in possession of rhino horn and stolen property.
The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team conducted a sting operation after receiving information on a man wanting to sell rhino horn.
‘The set up deal was conducted in a restaurant at the Port Elizabeth Beachfront which led to the arrest of the suspects and the seizure of a rhino horn as well as two vehicles,’ said the South African Police Service in a statement.
The suspects were charged and will appear at the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Monday, February 15 2021.
#sapsHQ #Hawks‘ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Port Elizabeth arrested 2 suspects aged 27 & 36 for possession of rhino horn & possession of suspected stolen property. Suspects will appear at the Port Elizabeth Magistrates’ Court today. TMhttps://t.co/FRpXxsYysP pic.twitter.com/4GSbg4Ckwx
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) February 15, 2021
Recent sting operations have seen a number of criminals being arrested in possession of animal remains.
The Kimberley Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit (STESU) arrested four male suspects in possession of two pangolin skins on February 7.
Image: SAPS/ Twitter
In KwaZulu-Natal, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park (HiP) have partnered with several organisations to establish a dog unit known as the HiP K9 Unitthat operates inside HiP in their continued fight against rhino poaching.
Dennis Kelly who is HiP’s Makhamisa Section Ranger and Project Leader of the K9 Unit said, ‘The use of canines is a very effective tool and has been used successfully in Kruger and in other parts of Africa.
‘Dogs are useful in many ways for law enforcement,’ he added. ‘Their noses – which have 50 times more scent receptors than humans – are their most valuable tool allowing them to follow and detect specific scents. This is of crucial importance in combatting ever determined and evolving poaching teams which have become more sophisticated and can easily hide their tracks once they are inside Protected Areas.’
Sadly, despite considerable efforts across South Africa, various establishments exist the guise of conservation when in fact the reality is much darker.
Canned lion hunting in South Africa is a horrific industry that promotes and justifies itself as acts of conservation.
In reality, lions are bred in captivity, where their life will end in an untimely, violent death. Female lions are forced into an endless, exhaustive cycle of breeding.
The cubs from these litters are ripped away from their mothers and used as props for tourists to take pictures with. Once the cubs grow, ‘walk with lion’ tours are sold, allowing people to have an up-close and unnatural experience with these big cats.
Once their time here is up, they are sold off for canned lion hunts. Here are 5 things you need to know about the lion trade.
After the animals are shot by hunters and their trophies are exported, wildlife dealers make one last round of profits from the leftover skeletons and bones by exporting them to Asia to supplement the black market for tiger bones.
The Tiger King series on Netflix is not an anomaly but a microcosmic representation of the black market economy of big cats as a whole.
South Africa tops exhibitor list at US trophy hunting convention
Image: Twitter
