South Africa: the world's largest rhinoceros farm saved by an NGO

The largest rhinoceros farm in the world, set up in South Africa by a millionaire with the ambitious project of saving the species from poaching but who had been struggling for months to find a buyer, was finally bought by an NGO.

African Parks, an organization to which Prince Harry is linked and which manages around twenty protected parks on the continent, announced on Monday that it was the new owner of the 7,800 hectares of land located less than 200 km south-west of Johannesburg and 2,000 white rhinos representing 15% of the species’ global population.

“African Parks has become the new owner of Platinum Rhino, the largest private captive rhino breeding company in the world,” the NGO said in a statement.

Wealthy businessman John Hume, 81, opened the farm in 2009. Bending under the exorbitant costs of his vast project, he put his property up for auction in April, saying he was looking for another “millionaire” to take over. raises.

“Rhinoceros breeding is an expensive hobby,” the breeder admitted in an interview with AFP before the sale, adding that he had “run out of money”. Mr. Hume, who did not respond to a request for comment on Monday, said he had spent a total of $150 million in saving the large mammal.

“No offers have been received, putting these rhinos at great risk of poaching,” African Parks said.

The organization’s CEO, Peter Fearnhead, quoted in the press release, explains that he obeyed a “moral obligation to find a solution for these wild animals in decline”. Although he had originally “never intended to become the owner of a captive rhino breeding business and 2,000 rhinos”.

The NGO, which did not specify the amount disbursed, received support from the South African government and conservation organizations, as well as financial assistance for the buyout.

South Africa is home to nearly 80% of the world’s population of white rhinos, estimated today at less than 13,000 specimens.

The country has become a hotspot for poaching, driven by Asian demand where keratin horns, the same substance as human fingernails or hair, are used in traditional medicine for their alleged therapeutic or aphrodisiac effects.

In 2022, 448 rhinos were killed in the country, according to the government, despite tightened anti-poaching measures in national parks. The horn thieves, whose price per kilo on the black market rivals the price of gold and reaches 60,000 dollars, have adapted their strategy and are now attacking the most vulnerable private parks.

The South African Minister for Forests, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, hailed in the press release an “important agreement”. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has applauded a “lifeline thrown to a near-threatened species”.

African Parks plans to reintroduce farmed rhinos into the wild over the next ten years, including relocating them to protected areas in Africa.

“This is one of the largest species rewilding projects on the continent”, underlines the NGO, specifying that the objective is to “reduce the risks for the species in the future and gradually put end to the breeding project”.

One of the strategies to fight against the massacre of rhinos is to preventively cut the coveted horns, which can then grow back. In South Africa, domestic trade in rhino horn is permitted although controversial, but export is illegal.

John Hume organized an online sale of horns in 2017 to raise money and fund conservation, sparking outrage from conservationists.