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University of Pretoria joins rhino war!

The fight against rhino poaching has escalated to a war. Last year, a total of 333 rhino were killed by poachers and the total for this year stands at 190 so far. On the other hand, 15 alleged poachers were killed and 122 arrested so far this year.

On 22 June, the Onderstepoort Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL) of the University of Pretoria presented 1 000 rhino DNA sampling kits to South African National Parks (SANParks) in an attempt to win this war and save South Africa’s rhinos from extinction. The kits are part of a project between SANParks, the VGL and South African Breweries, who donated R100 000 towards their production. They were developed by SANParks’s Environmental Crime Investigation Unit, the Police Forensics Laboratory and the VGL.

The aim of the project – a world first – is to compile a database of the DNA profiles of the 22 000 white and black rhino in the country, as well as those of rhino in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana. The database now contains approximately 2 000 profiles.

The primary intention with the compilation of the database is to support poaching investigations. It makes it possible to charge poachers not only with the possession of rhino horn, but also with illegal hunting and theft. Investigators will be able to match the horns in suspects’ possession with carcasses lying somewhere in a national park or a reserve. This is expected to give prosecutors more ammunition in demanding stiff sentences for poachers.