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Rhino poaching continues to decimate the southern African population of an already threatened species.

The cost of effective anti-poaching efforts is especially problematic for privately owned reserves and sanctuaries.

Johan Lottering, the founder of the Kouga Rhino Sanctuary in Jeffreys Bay, says he spends upwards of R45 000 a month to provide protection for his three rhinos, having lost 10 to poachers over the past 15 years.

That pales in comparison to the efforts needed to secure an area the size of Kruger National Park, especially when battling poachers who are skilled at surviving for days in the bush.

While the potential riches of the lucrative rhino horn trade are the main driving factor, it’s not the only consideration. City Press reports:

Economic pressures contribute to someone considering rhino poaching as a means to sustain their families.

University of Cape Town’s environmental security senior expert Annette Hübschle states in her research that poachers usually come from or work with communities that surround protected game reserves.

She points out that community members who reside in these areas have complicated relationships with park officials because of social and political issues.

In some areas, there’s often the sense that the state places more value on rhino conservation than it does on black lives. One poacher spoke of crime and lawlessness in his community going unpunished, while there was a huge focus on anti-poaching.

At the top of the food chain, poaching kingpins are able to exploit the desperation and shame of mostly young men:

…the mafias who run lucrative and thriving rhino horn businesses, known as “Godfathers” or “Lords”, target destitute neighbourhoods, where mostly young men to do their dirty work, and leave them with the crumbs of the profit.

Interviews cited in Hübschle’s paper suggest that poachers engage in these crimes because they feel ashamed of not being able to provide for their families.

Hübschle weaves in a creed of social banditry that rhino poachers believe they belong to.

The poachers are led to believe that their communities benefit from the influx of cash that poaching brings.

It’s been referred to as the Robin Hood effect and can lead to an added layer of protection for poachers should they be caught.

Hübschle also pointed to the example of two prominent Mozambican kingpins who labelled themselves ‘economic freedom fighters’ struggling to represent both the economic and environmental rights of their communities.

In and around Cape Town, abalone (perlemoen) poachers are frequently villainised. While their impact on the local abalone population is incredibly damaging, those plucking the marine creatures from the rocks are themselves the bottom feeders in a long chain which stretches all the way to China’s seafood market.

Poacher, an excellent book by Kimon de Greef and Shuhood Abader, is an illuminating read on the subject.

[source:citypress]