On the 24th July 2024, this submission was made by the Wildlife Animal Protection Forum of South Africa (WAPFSA) in response to the draft Biodiversity Management Plan for Black Rhinoceros (Diceros Bicornis) and White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium Simum) in South Africa published under Government Notice 4980 in Government Gazette 50829 of 18 June 2024.
WAPFSA was established as a vehicle to engage with government on wild life issues, and to put wild animals onto the political agenda based on ethical and compassionate conservation and harmonious coexistence within nature.
WAPFSA is a civil society network currently consisting of twenty eight (28) South African-based protection, conservation, environmental and community organisations that share certain common values, expertise and objectives.
WAPFSA’s activities are underpinned by an understanding that the inter-relationship between environmental protection, animal well-being, conservation and the values of dignity, compassion and humaneness are foundational to our constitutional democracy. WAPFSA also advocate for the concepts of UBUNTU, the intrinsic value of wild animals and an integrative policy approach.
Collectively, WAPFSA offers the South African government, a body of expertise from scientific, animal welfare, rights, social and climate justice, indigenous knowledge, public advocacy sectors and environmental law experts.
Please download the submission:
Given all the issues raised in this submission, WAPFSA’s recommendations are:
- Close the domestic market for rhino horn by imposing a moratorium.
- Conduct on-going mandatory audits of private and state-owned rhino horn stockpiles.
- Strengthen and Improve law enforcement and operations to dismantle rhino horn trafficking syndicates.
- Cooperate with all relevant and national foreign authorities.
- Shut down all facilities that breed rhino for any purpose other than solely for conservation.
- South Africa must abandon the idea of trading in rhino horn and encourage other Range States to do the same.
- Rather than banking on the extinction of rhinos, South Africa must embrace rhino horn stockpile destruction as an anti-poaching, anti-trafficking, and demand reduction tool to meaningfully contribute to the ethical protection of rhino populations in Africa and Asia and to mitigate their extinction. Doing so will send a strong signal that South Africa is firmly committed to preserving and protecting rhinos, and to truly ensuring their welfare and well-being.
- By virtue of the precautionary approach, South Africa, and other CITES States Parties must act in the best interest of the conservation of the species and urgently uplist rhinos currently on Appendix II to Appendix I.
Image: Rhinos in Africa 2017
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