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Tourism and safari industry shut down due to pandemic
Animal rights activists have warned that the slaughter of rhinos for the illegal trade in their horns could once again skyrocket in Namibia as the coronavirus pandemic has shut down the travel industry, affecting many farms that depend on the tourism.
Namibia is home to the majority of black rhinos, members of an endangered species usually cared for by individuals at their own expense and in safety.
Rhino conservationist Annette Oelofse has looked after rhinos for thirty years.
She runs a farm in northern Namibia with her son, Alexander.
Oelofse told UK Sky News that she was ‘enraged’ by rhino poaching because it kills animals ‘for nothing’.
Rhinoceros horns are made of keratin, the same substance found in human fingernails, and has no protein or healing value, but in some Asian countries it is seen as a symbol of wealth.
Rhinoceros horn has no legal value, and under international law it is illegal to sell or buy it, but on the black market it can be sold for millions of dollars.
Currently, fewer than 6,000 rhinos live in Namibia, and for decades Oelofse and his family have dedicated their lives to trying to save each one.
But with the shutdown of the tourism and safari industry, many fear anti-poaching organizations will back down due to lack of funds, leaving poachers a clear way to kill rhinos and sell their horns in the market. black.
Safari Wildlife Protection founder Salmon Vermaak, who heads his team of anti-poachers, said farms have been forced to cut costs, leaving many rhinos in the hands of poachers.
Namibia has been fighting rhino culling for years, but has seen a decrease in the illegal practice during the coronavirus lockdown.
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