More than 600 rhino were poached between 2010 and 2011.This year alone, South Africa has lost 265 rhinos (as at 30/6/2012) to the savagery of poaching that seems unstoppable in the face of massive demand for rhino horn from Asia. "With a 100 percent increase in the number of rhinos killed between March 2011 and March 2012, this is a very serious and deeply concerning issue. Without concerted, high-level and even radical intervention to stop the poaching, South Africa's estimated 18 000 white rhino and 2500 black rhino will be extinct in a few short years, only to be seen in museums and books," said Bill Moyes of Aon South Africa's commercial unit.
The Rhino Rescue project was conceptualised and launched by conservationist Lorinda Hern of the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve and veterinary specialist Dr Charles van Niekerk, and is positioned as an out-of-the-box solution to an out-of-control problem.
The project promotes the treatment of the rhino horn while the animal is under sedation, infusing it with an indelible dye that contaminates the horn. The dye is mixed with a compound of ectoparasiticides, which serve to protect the rhino from ticks and other parasites that spread infection. The compound is toxic to humans but completely safe for animals, including ox-peckers and vultures. A full DNA sample is also harvested from the rhino and three matching identification microchips are inserted, one per horn and the third on the animal.
To add leverage to the project, Aon and One have stepped on board to provide insurance cover to rhino owners, covering all risk of mortality for the animal, including during the treatment process, as well as providing cover for poaching once the treatment has been completed and the DNA registered on the database at Onderstepoort.
Peter Darroll, marketing manager of One added: "To date, we are providing the only insurance cover currently available for rhino owners against poaching available without additional monthly premium, on condition that the animal undergoes a rhino horn treatment process offered by The Rhino Rescue Project (RRP), which is offered at a once-off cost.
"Prior to the introduction of this new product solution by One and Aon, insurance cover for rhinos specifically covering poaching was exceptionally expensive and, in many cases, simply unattainable," explained Darroll.
From the outset, Aon was adamant that they would never support the legalisation of trade in rhino horn. Besides the fact that dehorning poses serious behavioural and social challenges within the herd for the dehorned animal - it's also subject to significant levels of fraud and corruption. And dehorned animals are still poached for their horn bases.
"We desperately need to get the message to consumer markets to stop buying rhino horn and once and for all explode the myths about the non-existent medicinal properties thereof. We cannot undermine the education efforts and expect consumers to stop buying rhino horn when we are willingly supplying it by legalising the trade in horns," added Bill Moyes of Aon.
In September 2010, Dr Albert Lim Kok Hooi, a consulting oncologist based in Kuala Lumpur, made an impassioned plea in an article in Malaysia's The Star Online news portal in which he dismissed the medicinal properties of rhino horn. "To all this, I say that something that works for everything usually works for nothing. I also say that something that has been used for hundreds or thousands of years does not make it right. The whole sad story of killing the rhino for its horn is not only criminal, it is cruel, immoral and unforgivably, without any scientific basis."
As far as One and Aon are concerned, there is only one place for a rhino horn, and that's attached to the rhino roaming our reserves and savannahs. "We believe that a comprehensive insurance product for owners of rhino covering the animal for the risks posed by sedation during the actual procedure, as well as afterwards in the unfortunate event that the animal is still poached, is a worthy incentive to protect their hefty investment. The insurance cover for poaching is only available if the horn treatment and chipping is complete and the DNA samples registered on the national database of rhino. This is crucial in aiding the legal community in securing prosecutions in cases where poached horns are recovered by being able to trace exactly which animal the horn belonged to. The microchips also serve as a means of identification. By law, any rhino that is immobilised for whatever reason now has to be microchipped," explained Darroll.
Lorinda Hern of the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve added: "The fact that the rhinos in any reserve are treated is widely publicised by means of signposts around the reserve's perimeter and, should a treated rhino be killed, the indelible dye is clearly visible inside the horn - a clear indication that the horn had been contaminated. We also strongly suggest involving staff and informing them of the horn-treatment process as their involvement ensures that word about the treatment spreads rapidly via the bush telegraph.
"We realise that this is just one of a number of temporary solutions towards coming to a holistic, long-term plan, but in the interim, our rhinos and Big Five heritage simply don't have the benefit of time," Hern concluded.
For more about the Rhino Rescue Project, go to www.rhinorescueproject.com.
