An Inside Look at the World’s Biggest Rhino Farm - John Hume Rhino Farmer
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2017
- An Inside Look at the World’s Biggest Rhino Farm
He world’s largest private rhino breeder, John Hume, is on the verge of bankruptcy, leaving questions open as to what happens to his 1,626 Southern white rhinos, held on his property, Buffalo Dream Ranch, in North West Province, South Africa.
In this Thorny Issue, we discuss why this has happened and what could be done to secure a future for Hume’s rhinos.
Who is John Hume?
John Hume has the largest number of privately owned rhinos in the world, almost all of them being Southern white rhinos, currently listed as ‘Near Threatened’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. These are monitored and protected at the 8,000 hectare Buffalo Dream Ranch (BDR), near the North West province town of Klerksdorp, which is defined as a Captive Breeding Operation (CBO) under Threatened Or Protected Species (TOPS) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulations.
Hume is probably best known for challenging the South African Government’s moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn, an extended legal case that he eventually won in 2017. He also appeared in the 2017 documentary, Trophy, in which he shared his views on legalising the trade in rhino horn.
Hume has regularly stated that he believes a legal trade is the only way to stop the poaching crisis, arguing that the escalating security costs for rhino owners and managers of wild rhino populations alike are unsustainable. He further states that a renewably sourced rhino horn could one day meet demand from Asia, that better law enforcement is unlikely to end the trade alone and that the failure of a regulated ivory market is not comparable to the situation with rhino horn, as ivory cannot be harvested without killing elephants.
Hume refutes the notion that his and other breeders’ primary aim is to make money from a legal trade, arguing that the costs of rhino protection are currently shouldered by private owners and that funds generated from his horn sale will go back into conservation. In January 2018, Hume announced that he was partnering with a local NGO to implement a Southern Africa Community Rhino Breeding Programme, aimed at increasing the rhino population and in the process, create opportunities for rural communities to benefit from rhinos and then stop collaborating with poachers.
Why does John Hume keep rhinos?
Both white and black rhinos are bred at BDR, though the majority are white rhinos, the less endangered of the two species. As a CBO, the rhinos are managed more intensively than they would be in the wild, with supplementary food, regular veterinary care, a gender skew towards females, and a proactively managed stud book. The population is estimated to grow by around 10% annually, with a prediction that Hume will successfully breed 200 calves in 2018. Hume’s rhinos make up approx. 8% of the global Southern white rhino population.
Every rhino at Hume’s ranch is dehorned. This cyclical routine takes place when a rhino’s horn has grown back sufficiently since it was last removed, approximately every two to three years. Each time, the rhino is anaesthetised for this operation. Hume’s stated main reason for dehorning is to deter poachers; it has also enabled him to build a stockpile of more than six tons.
Hume has repeatedly said that being able to sell off his stockpile would allow him to pay for the costs of keeping rhinos, noting: “If I don’t get money to protect my rhino they will be dead…what I am doing here is simply not sustainable. I am using my life-savings and it can’t last.”
It has been reported that Hume spends R5 million (US $400,000) every month in security costs alone to look after his rhinos. Unfortunately, this has not completely stopped poachers, with around 40 rhinos having been killed since 2014. The huge cost of keeping his rhinos safe from poachers, as well as paying for feed, veterinary care and staff, has seemingly made it impossible to continue under the current financial model.
To Read More:
www.savetherhino.org/thorny-i...
Here's a question to those who oppose a strictly regulated trade of legally produced rhino horn where a rhino stays alive and the horn grows back: How John Hume, the man who bred 1000 rhinos and the man who currently provides care and security from poachers for 1535 rhinos, is suppose to earn money to keep these rhinos alive and happy? #SaveTheRhinoNotTheHorn, #TheManWhoBred1000Rhinos, #SellTheHornSaveTheRhino
What a great human being, God loves you John Hume.
Now a days farming is the only way to protect animals. Also it is very very expensive. Selling meat and horn and their skin is the only way to keep other animals alive and healthy. Farm should be legal for all animals not only rhino.
Amazing person.
United Nation must be support your project Sir
Worth to try it
Others options already failed and the time is running out for rhinos.
I'm writing a book about African Wildlife and I will include this story in it. People need to know about this project
I fully support this men if he is keeping rhino's alive
Helping to save rhinos from extinction.
I hope so.
If it gives these beautiful animals one last chance 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🙏
Great respect for what you`re doing!
Amazing man! I hope that you succeed.
Waaao thiis is big animal.. it's amazing to be in this place
I liked this video very much. thank you. I hope you keep posting.
good luck in your endevours.
Goverments and wildlife charity sshould help.
This guy is very good guy
Great
I have to agree here
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It’d put poachers outta business or at least they would target these rinos rather than wild ones
Op rino
Does cnn know about this?
Who gives a S.... about the less reliable tv channel of the world???...The only thing CNN is good at is telling lies ... lies and more lies.
God damn...
I thought it couldn’t be done with pachyderm pregnancies and their skittish behavior. Impressive.
thus guy is smart...hahahaha
The sad thing is that people want their horns at all
Ha pensado sr. John Hume en pedirle apoyo a el millonario Elon Musk? Alli esta el gastando en mandar naves y otras cosas que terminaran siendo basura espacial en lugar de invertir en asuntos mas serios.
better give th money for support this rhino farm than rohingya people
Its meat should be legal too. Before you take their meat make sure you take at least 2 babies from them.
of course not
No.
Why shouldn’t the meat be legal? The rhino dies at some point anyway, as long as they have an average of more than one rhino born for every rhino slaughtered for meat, the population goes up, and it gives the rhino farmers more money to put into improving the farm, otherwise the whole animal just goes to waste.
I don't think that would be profitable. That's because rhinos breed at a slower rate than cattle do. And I am Rancher's son who used to have his own herd of cattle for five years ( I sold my old hard because I was moving elsewhere where I couldn't take my cattle). You might be able to use rhino meat if it was from a trophy hunting and give it to local villages, but trying to profit out of rhino meat does not sound like a good idea.
@@austinmajor3288 just the novelty alone would probably be able to generate enough profit to stay afloat long enough to create a massive boost to the rhino population and then there might be enough environmentalists who recognize that eating rhino meat now will help their overall population and switch over from cattle just to help rhino farmers, they probably won’t replace the standard livestock but it would still help rhino populations, and there’s no more potential for harm than there is now, as long as the checking process for ensuring that the rhinos are ethically sourced is thorough enough