“African Parks has become the new owner of Platinum Rhino, the world’s largest private captive breeding company for rhinos,” the NGO welcomed.
“An expensive leisure activity”
Wealthy businessman John Hume, 81, opened the breeding farm in 2009. Burdened by the exorbitant costs of his huge project, he put his property up for auction in April and said he was looking for another “millionaire” to take over . Relief.
“Rhino breeding is an expensive hobby,” the breeder admitted before the sale, adding that he had “run out of money.” Mr Hume said he had spent a total of $150 million to save the large mammal.
The organisation’s CEO, Peter Fearnhead, says he has a “moral obligation to find a solution to the decline of these wildlife”. Although he originally “never intended to have a captive rhino breeding business and own 2,000 rhinos.”
The NGO, which did not disclose the amount paid, received support from the South African government and conservation organizations as well as financial support for the takeover.
448 rhinos killed in 2022
South Africa is home to almost 80% of the world’s white rhino population, which is now estimated at fewer than 13,000 individuals.
There are fewer than 13,000 white rhinos living in South Africa.
LUCA SOLA/AFP
The country has become a poaching hotspot, driven by demand in Asia, where keratin horns, the same substance as human nails or hair, are used in traditional medicine for their supposed therapeutic or aphrodisiac effects.
According to the government, 448 rhinos were killed in the country in 2022, despite increased anti-poaching measures in national parks. Horn thieves, whose price per kilo rivals the price of gold on the black market and reaches $60,000, have adapted their strategy and are now targeting more vulnerable private parks.
South African Minister for Forests, Fisheries and Environment Barbara Creecy welcomed an “important agreement”. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) welcomed the “lifeline for a near-threatened species”.
Back to the wild
African Parks plans to reintroduce bred rhinos into the wild over the next decade, including by relocating them to protected areas in Africa.
“This is one of the largest species rewilding projects on the continent,” emphasizes the NGO, specifying that the aim is “to reduce the risks to the species in the future and to phase out the breeding project.”
John Hume organized a sale of rhino horns in 2017 to fund breeding, sparking outrage from environmentalists.
LUCA SOLA/AFP
One of the strategies to combat the massacre of rhinos is to preemptively cut off the coveted horns so that they can grow back. In South Africa, trade in rhino horn within the country is permitted, although controversial, but export is illegal.