Namibia was the first country to use dehorning to protect rhinos from poaching, starting between 1989 and the early 1990s. Yet, as with anything in conservation and ecology, such interventions require longterm assessment to determine effectiveness. We are only now starting to understand the long-term effects of rhino horn trimming, because causality of rhino poaching and increase/decrease of poaching numbers are numerous and complicated. However, recent statistics are showing the potential deterrence effect of dehorned rhino populations:
In 2022, there was a 160% increase in poached rhinos in KZN, which had mostly horned populations - until recently. Conservationists have been dehorning rhinos in private KZN reserves since 2015. However, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (HiP), Africa’s oldest reserve and the origin of today’s South African rhino population, holds the largest remaining population of rhino in the province. HiP has held off on dehorning its rhino population until April this year (2024), when statistics revealed that in 2023 the majority of poached rhinos in the whole of South Africa were poached in HiP. In 2023, 499 rhino were poached in South Africa as a whole (a 11% increase from 2022), with 325 rhino poached in KZN. 307 of these KZN rhino were poached in HiP - 61% of total recorded losses.
In contrast, in the Kruger National Park (estimated to have 70% of rhino population dehorned), witnessed a 50% decrease in poaching incidents between 2020 and 2022. This was followed by another 37% decrease between 2022 and 2023 (with "only" 78 reported rhino poached in 2023 in Kruger).
With the support of our donors, Wild Wonderful World has been able to fund the first-ever dehorning of the Sabi Sands rhino population in 2022, the Sabie Game Reserve rhino in 2023, several dehornings on smaller reserves, as well as join other funding organisations in funding the veterinary fees for the first HluHluwe-iMfolozi dehorning in 2024.
We choose to support operations like this out of pure necessity. We, and many other organisations in their own right, are working tirelessly behind the scenes to develop new methods to protect rhino from being killed for their horn. While those methods are under way, we rely on reports from reserve managers and veterinarians, as well as preliminary results from a scientific study (awaiting peer-reviewed publication), indicating that horn trimming currently is the only statistically significant factor in reduced poaching, amongst various other rhino protection measures.
Horn re-growth rates fluctuate between 18-24 months, at which point the animal's horn will need to be trimmed again to maintain sufficient levels of anti-poaching effectiveness. With these reserves having now adopted horn trimming as a standard practice to dissuade poaching attempts, it is estimated that 400-600 horn trimmings need to happen over the next 18 month period in the Kruger region alone. Costs vary depending on how many rhino can be dehorned at the same time.
At the time of writing, costs of horn trimming for 1 rhino average around R18k (USD950). This includes veterinary professional time, supplies and helicopter/fixed wing hours to locate and dart the animal. This cost estimate is based on recent operations where only 1 animal was de-horned per intervention. This means that roughly half a million USD is needed every 2 years to maintain a sufficient percentage of dehorned rhino within the Kruger population - in addition to funding for security and anti-poaching response units.
A 2015 study estimated that the economic loss to South Africa from extinction of all rhino would amount to €79- 118 billion, equal to a 20% reduction of the total wildlife tourism info. This was estimated to amount to € 312.640 legal income per rhino. Relatively speaking then, the value gained from keeping our remaining rhino alive and protected, offsets the cost of dehorning.
We can only commit funding to projects if we have received donations from supporters like you! Here are some ways you can help:
Ensuring that your funds are used exactly how you want, you will receive a personalised thank you message from our team, informing you of when and where your funds have been used. If desired, we can also issue 501(c)3 and 18A tax deductible certificates for US and SA residents, respectively.
We send quarterly progress updates on our projects via our mailing list. We include photographs and if we get permission to film, a short video. If you prefer to receive personal updates, please leave us a note on the checkout page or contact us directly.
For donors who contribute more than USD 13,000 or ZAR 250,000 per year, we will host a personal video call to give feedback/updates, including a Q&A with the lead person in charge of the operation.
Our bank details are as follows:
UNITED STATES
Bank: Chase Bank
Acc. Name: Wild Wonderful World Conservation, Inc.
Routing/ABA No: 021000021
Swift/BIC Code: CHASUS33
Bank Address: JP Morgan Chase Bank, 270 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
UNITED KINGDOM/OTHER
Acc. Name: Wild Wonderful World Ltd/Rapid Response Fund
Account Type: USD Business Premium Account
Account Currency: USD
Acc. No: 75391533
Sort Code: 20-11-43
SWIFT/BIC: BUKBGB22
IBAN: GB07 BUKB 2011 4375 3915 33
SOUTH AFRICA
Acc. Name: Wild Wonderful World Conservation NPC
Bank: FNB (First National Bank)
Branch: Hoedspruit 270652
Account type: Cheque account
Acc. No: 6292 4522 198
SWIFT: FIRNZAJJ
Written by Evelyn Poole.
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