consumptive tourism | rhino files
It is estimated that the US government spends about US$70 billion on drug
enforcement annually; despite this, drugs are freely available in all US cities.
Not even the death penalty is a deterrent. The illegal killing of rhino is no
different. Despite the number of poachers that are shot and killed or arrested,
and despite our best efforts and at huge financial and personal costs to rhino
owners, the syndicates remain relentless.
At the CITES Convention held in Bangkok in 2013, I came across a poster
that credited the success of white rhino conservation in South Africa to
the CITES ban! What an inaccurate and misleading representation. The
success of rhino conservation in South Africa has been driven by sustainable