Leading the Charge - Ichikowitz Family Foundation

ANTI-POACHING | LOCAL HERO
ELISE DAFFUE
Leading the
charge
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JULY 2015
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The fight against rhino
poaching has become
one of life and death –
for animals and people.
These heroes have
put themselves on the
frontlines to protect
South Africa’s wildlife
heritage. Delia du Toit
joins the charge.
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Founder of NPO Stop Rhino Poaching
Elise has worked in the wildlife industry since 2000, first as
secretary for the Wildlife Translocation Association and then at
Bassair Aviation, which specialises in wildlife helicopter services.
‘It was during this time that I was exposed to the rhino crisis,’ she
says. ‘I felt absolutely helpless, but knew that I had to try and help.
Although there are a number of focus areas – each one critical to an
overall solution – I was drawn to the anti-poaching side because of
my relationship with the guys on the ground.’
She started StopRhinoPoaching.com in 2010 to raise awareness
on the subject. The site quickly became so popular that she saw
an opportunity to raise funds.
‘I never intended for StopRhinoPoaching.com to become a big
organisation, but now we have a national footprint for strategic
funding of security initiatives and ranger support on the frontlines.
Our focus is almost entirely on the ground, supporting regional
security and investigation activities. We also play a significant
role in networking – linking role players for rhino crime-related
information sharing.’
The organisation has become a huge motivation for the teams
they support because, through initiatives like these, the rangers
know that there are people out there who care about them. ‘We get
great feedback from the ground,’ she says. ‘One ranger’s life was
saved after he was shot, thanks to his manager having attended a
course we co-developed and sponsored. The manager was able to
plug the wound with a trauma pack we provided, saving his life.
‘Late last year, another story had me in tears. We’ve deployed a
number of rhino dogs that have contributed to arrests, but one saved
a ranger’s life. A poacher had snuck up behind them, and the dog’s
body language changed, alerting the ranger that someone was in the
area. The poacher was already taking aim when he spotted him, and
both escaped unharmed.’
The issue has become a personal one for Elise. ‘I hate the cruelty
of it all,’ she says, ‘the senselessness and brutality, the fact that
conservation rangers have needed to become trained soldiers. I need
to know that every day I’ve done my best to support them. Rhino
poachers are not just poor people from outlying communities; some
of them are dangerous, hardened criminals.’
Though a lot of work still needs to be done, and Elise admits
that poaching will never be completely wiped off the earth, she’s
positive about the future. Law enforcement in the field has improved
significantly, she says, and awareness is gaining momentum.
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ANTI-POACHING | LOCAL HERO
ISABET ERWEE
Senior state advocate
As a state prosecutor in the Pretoria High
Court, Isabet was often sent out to smaller
towns and so started working her first
court cases against poachers. ‘I’d always
loved nature and our national parks,’
she explains, ‘but I knew nothing about
prosecuting poachers at the time. It was
a relatively new field, and still is, and the
learning curve was steep.’
She was assigned to cases of organised
crime, including poaching syndicates,
and started out with only five cases in
2010. Today, the unit has almost 100
open cases against poachers – and that’s
only in the Lowveld. ‘It certainly is an
uphill battle,’ she says. ‘Since it’s a very
new field, there’s very little authority or
examples for courts to work from. Every
single case, even illegal entry into our
national parks, is crucial because it forms
the blueprint for how future cases will be
handled by a judge.’
But, Isabet says, huge strides are
being made. ‘The courts are starting
to see poaching as a violent crime, and
we’ve had sentences of up to 77 years.
We haven’t lost a single case – even if
an accused only gets sentenced on a
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smaller charge.’ She admits some people
feel these sentences are very harsh,
but believes it’s an essential deterrent
– poachers often come from poor
backgrounds, and the money involved in
the industry means only very high stakes
might discourage them.
‘Rangers, police members and dog
teams put their lives on the line every
day to fight this battle. ‘Poachers shoot
to kill – whether people or animals.
And everyone involved has seen the
heartlessness of it all, and it touches you.
I’ve seen strong men become emotional
when encountering a rhino that’s had
its face hacked off but is still alive. It’s
ruthless out there.’
That’s why Isabet and her fellow
prosecutors keep working on these cases,
even though the hours are long and the
in-tray is piling up every day. ‘When I feel
hopeless,’ she says, ‘I think of all the people
who’ve put in so much effort to grow the
anti-poaching movement. The perception
is that not enough is being done about the
problem, but without all the hours some
people have already put in, we would have
been nowhere. Now we’re getting to a
point where we can see a light – the tide
might be turning some time soon.’
MAJOR-GENERAL
JOHAN JOOSTE
Head of anti-poaching at
SA National Parks
Over the last two years, the ranger corps
at SA National Parks has become like
a special-ops force, thanks to Johan’s
efforts. ‘We started off by centralising
command for our parks so that we can
share intelligence,’ he says. ‘It’s a problem
that was seriously hampering our reach
and impact. Rangers also received training
to better their anti-poaching techniques,
and were equipped with navigation and
night-vision gear.’
Combating poaching has become a
very dangerous fight over the last few
years, and every ranger’s life is on the
line. They’ve also taken the war to the
skies with a new helicopter force, the park
perimeters have been rigged up with early
warning sensors, and trained dogs are also
used to help sniff out any trouble. Their
efforts led to 227 arrests last year.
Despite these valiant efforts, poachers
still aren’t deterred. More than 800
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LOCAL HERO | ANTI-POACHING
rhinos were killed in the Kruger National
Park last year, and the number of poachers
is only increasing; Johan estimates that
around 4 500 entered the park in 2014.
‘The good news is that we expect to
finally see a drop in these numbers by the
end of this year,’ he says. ‘A big help was
to form an alliance with our neighbouring
parks and Mozambican police and
authorities. Most Kruger poachers come
through the northern border, and sharing
intelligence has given us an advantage.
Despite all our new technology, the human
element remains the most important
weapon in the fight against poaching.’
The key, Johan believes, is to clean
up the park from the outside in. ‘Once a
poacher is inside the park, it’s too late,
because the area we then have to cover is
just too big. The park has a 1 000km-long
border, which is already huge, but more
manageable.’
Within the park, they’re concentrating
their efforts in the south, where most of
the 8 000-9 000 rhinos roam. They’re also
exporting rhinos to other safer parks.
‘This fight won’t be easily won,’ admits
Johan, ‘and there are no medals for the
brave people trying to make a difference.
But quitting is not an option. Rhinos, and
any animals in our country, have such
an important symbolic meaning and
must be protected.’
ERIC ICHIKOWITZ
Marketing director at defence and
aerospace company, Paramount Group
Weighing a tonne and standing nearly 10m
tall, Parabot seems like a giant, real-life
Transformer. The ‘robot’, constructed
with the body of an Mbombe 6 armoured
vehicle, is the Paramount Group’s latest
endeavour in raising awareness around the
fight against rhino poaching.
Topped with a massive rhino horn,
Parabot makes a big statement indeed.
It’s been showcased at events such as
the Rand Show, and has drawn a lot of
attention to the plight of rhinos in our
country. ‘Parabot is a symbol of resistance,’
PARABOT SEEMS LIKE
A GIANT, REAL-LIFE
TRANSFORMER
explains Eric, ‘a symbol of the fight back,
and a message to the criminal gangs who
are behind the slaughter that we will not
give up on Africa’s wildlife heritage. The
defence industry is in a unique position
to strengthen conservation efforts. We
have technology and equipment that is
making a real difference.’
As Africa’s largest privately owned
defence and aerospace company,
Paramount Group believes the industry
can play a significant role in fighting
poaching through the provision of
technologies, equipment and training. Over
the last two years, the Paramount Group
has provided aerial platforms and combattraining programmes for park rangers,
and established South Africa’s largest K9
facility to train detection and ranger dogs
for anti-poaching patrols.
To develop and promote Parabot, they
partnered with the Ichikowitz Family
Foundation, a charitable organisation that
aims to find new and innovative ways to
support SA’s national parks. Parabot itself
took 600 hours to build, and was made by
Cape Town film-effects company CFX.
‘The Ichikowitz Family Foundation
was founded with the belief that Africa’s
potential can be unlocked through
education, the respect for human rights, a
better understanding of Africa’s dynamic
history and the conservation of its rich
biodiversity,’ says Eric. ‘We aim to promote
conservation to this end.’
Visit stoprhinopoaching.com to
help. Every cent donated goes
straight into the organisation’s
projects, and there are a number of
products for sale online to support
the rhino cause.
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pictures: supplied
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