Cutting off Rhinos’ horns is the last lawsuit to stop poaching. A new study finds it works

Cape Town, South Africa (AP) – Africa’s wildlife conservationists believe that the observation of cutting the calm rhino horns with chainsaws has been over 30 years old, a necessary evil to save the iconic endangered species from poaching.

They hope this intense action is working, but there is little evidence.

Now, a study published Thursday in the Academic Journal Science found that DeHorning Rhinos has greatly reduced poaching reserves in and around Kruger National Park in northern South Africa, a region that accounts for 25% of the world’s rhino locations and is particularly prone to poaching.

The results of the seven-year study ended in 2023 are considered long-awaited evidence that even if the animal loses part of its makeup, even if the animal loses a part of it, it can be done every two years to two years.

Consistently reducing poaching

The conclusion seems to be obvious. The lucrative illegal markets in Southeast Asia and parts of China are eager for rhino horns to be used in traditional medicines and removing rhino horns has taken poachers away.

But Tim Kuiper, a biodiversity scientist at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa and lead author of the study, said it is new to obtain long-term data on Dehorning Rhinos from multiple locations. He said the study was conducted between January 2017 and December 2023, focusing on 11 reserves in the Kruger region and comparing eight data that made rhino with undecayed with three reserves that did not.

It also analyzes their data in their reserves before and after the Dehonos.

Kuiper said research shows that Dehorning has always reduced poaching. It found that blurting water from more than 2,000 rhinos resulted in a 78% reduction in poaching in these eight reserves, confirming that this invasive intervention is worth it.

“It’s an important part of the rhino, and there’s a horn,” Cooper said. “So if I could say that, it’s a necessary evil that must be removed. But it’s very effective. It’s undoubtedly saved hundreds of rhino lives.”

South Africa has the largest number of black and white rhinos. Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya also have large populations. According to data from Save Rhino, there are about 17,500 white rhinos and 6,500 black rhinos in the world, with the number of black rhinos decreasing from 70,000 in 1970 to less than 2,500 poaching times.

DeHorning is not always accepted

Dehorning Rhinos began in southern Africa as early as 1989. It didn’t accept it without a doubt.

Animal rights activists have objected, but have also raised the impact of protectionists on its health on rhino and on the future of more hornless rhinos.

Vanessa Duthe, a rhino researcher in South Africa, is not involved in the study, saying rhinos use their horns to defend themselves from predators, fighting for territory, and for black rhinos, searching for food. She said there is also evidence that the rhino encroachment movements adjust their movements to live on a smaller scale.

She said protectionists don’t know the full impact of DeHorning, but studies have found that it has no adverse effect on rhino breeding or mortality.

“What we know is that expulsion is far more than any ecological cost we know today,” Duter said. She said it takes about 10 minutes to pick the rhino, a process that can cause minimal distress. During Dehorning, the blindfolded eye mask and ear cup were placed on the calming rhino, which also provided an opportunity for the microchip rhino and collected samples that were helpful for the study.

Part of the battle

Conservationists agree that DeHorning alone won’t end rhino poaching, and Kuiper says he sees it as a short- to medium-term solution. Other efforts such as more effective law enforcement and better support for the frontline game Rangers are key.

While South Africa helps to lift rhinos out of the threat of extinction, the country has been killed by poachers.

The DeHorning Research is a collaboration between three South African universities, Oxford University in England and scientists at the Game Reserve Manager and Rangers. It also involves the Ministry of National Parks in South Africa, the World Wildlife Foundation and the Rhino Recovery Fund.

___

AP Africa News: