Take fight against rhino poaching to embassies
FROM reading the Sunday papers, it has become obvious to me that the answer to halting the slaughter of our rhino population could be achieved by a few diplomatic manoeuvres.
That is, of course, if our politicians are not part of this murky trade in rhino horn.
We are fighting what the game rangers themselves call a "war" against poachers, but this war is no longer a covert battle against an unknown enemy. We have information on where they live with their families, where they keep their weapons, where they plan their raids and where they trade in this contraband commodity, a stone's throw from the South African border.
We even have a mug shot of one of the "warlords" who gives the orders for these raids into our sovereign territory. Whatever happened to "hot pursuit"?
We know where 80% of our rhino horns end up: Vietnam, which country harbours the poachers: Mozambique, which Asian country has the clout to stop this theft: China and we have diplomatic relations with all these countries.
As one of the game rangers said, "This is not a war that can be fought in the bush; it must be fought in the courts." But, let's face it, the courts don't have enough time to act before our rhino become extinct.
It is therefore a diplomatic battle and if our politicians don't act, because they are too cowardly, lethargic, indifferent or corrupt, then we, the lovers of African wildlife, must act with whatever weapons we have.
Eighteen months ago a concerned rhino conservationist sent his fingernail clippings to the Vietnamese Embassy in protest against the massacre of our rhino population. Fingernails contain mostly keratin which is also the main component of rhino horn.
However, one man's nail clippings are not going to keep the Vietnamese middle class in enough keratin, so I suggest the rest of us help out. We can't all head off to Kruger to fight poachers and we don't make the political decisions, but those of us who are really worried about rhino extinction can all make an impact by sending our fingernail and toenail clippings, and our own hair from the hairdresser's floor, which also contains keratin, to the embassy of our choice – the Chinese, the Vietnamese, the Mozambican – or the office of our own president.
The addresses are Chinese Embassy, 225 Athlone St, Acadia, Pretoria; Vietnamese Embassy, 87 Brooks St, Brooklyn, Pretoria; Mozambican Embassy, 529 Edmond St, Acadia. Pretoria and SA president, Private Bag X1000, Pretoria, 0001.
If millions of South Africans really have the welfare of our rhino at heart, then let's have millions of envelopes with our clippings arriving at any of these offices on a regular monthly basis. It would create havoc, but havoc is the objective, and it is what's needed to get someone in authority from any, or all of these four countries to act.
It costs little more than R20 to send a registered letter internally, but the advantage of this is that someone has to sign for it at the other end. If ordinary people, who have no direct power to save our rhino, can make an impact, then the money is well spent. Those who can't afford R20 per month can send it via normal mail.
These rhino belong to everybody on the planet, not just a group of ignorant, selfish, affluent Asians. Do we really care or are we just paying lip service because it has become fashionable to care about nature?
Bob McChlery, Kenton on Sea
