We need to have an honest debate about farming rhino to save them – Jonathan Oppenheimer

South Africa holds the majority of the world’s rhino and it is the country hardest hit by poaching, with more than 200 rhinos killed each year between 2013 and 2017. That is according to Save the Rhino. In 2021, 451 rhinos were killed in South Africa. Rhino population in key strongholds like the Kruger National Park have fallen dramatically with a drop of 59% since 2013. Save the Rhino believes that a mix of tools, including: trained and well-equipped rangers, education in areas where rhinos live and in Asia where consumer demand for rhino horn is highest, making sure that communities living near rhino habitats feel the benefit of conversation and captive breeding, are the solutions to prevent the species dying out. There are however private game farmers like South African John Hume who are pushing for legal trade in live rhinos and horns. Businessman and conservationist, Jonathan Oppenheimer has weighed in on this debate and in an interview with BizNews, said he would like to have an honest debate on whether rhinos would not be better protected “if farmers can create value out of rhinos.” – Linda van Tilburg.

This interview originally appeared on BizNews.