Save the last of South Africa's rhinos with legislation
Save the last of South Africa's rhinos with legislation
The Issue
--- PLEASE SIGN (CONFIRM VIA EMAIL!!) AND SHARE THE PETITION | THE BLOODSHED MUST STOP ---
Follow the campaign on social media:
Instagram: @jamie_savingthewild
Instagram: @saving_the_wild
Facebook: Saving the Wild
Issued by Saving the Wild and Jane Goodall Institute 'Roots & Shoots'.
We are asking the SA government to bring the end game to the crisis and introduce meaningful legislation that effectively deters wildlife crime.
More than 10 000 rhinos have been killed since 2010.
Very few poachers or traffickers ever go to prison.
Our rhino warriors are being gunned down in the streets and in front of their families by powerful criminal syndicates.
The below letter was sent to the Ministers on 2 September 2024. We are making good progress behind the scenes, but we need tens of thousands of signatures to prove to the government that this is the will of the people.
For attention: South Africa Minister of Environment Dr Dion George and Deputy Minister Mr Narend Singh.
Since 2016, Saving the Wild has led the charge against corruption enabling rhino poaching and the dismantling of poaching syndicates.
History was made on Friday 16 August, with the first ever conviction of a rhino syndicate crime boss - except it did not happen in South Africa, home to around 80% of the world’s rhino population.
Every day, every year, we wake up and fight the same enemy, because the courts in South Africa are so rampant with corruption. Saving the Wild is amicus curiae in the ongoing disciplinary hearing of suspended KZN court president Eric Nzimande where he is facing 162 charges. The court corruption criminal trial in the High Court has just begun. A common factor in both the disciplinary and criminal is rhino poaching.
It is no better in Greater Kruger where our partners have been responsible for the arrests of hundreds of rhino poachers, and only four have ever resulted in convictions. Skukuza court in Kruger National Park is not a reflection of reality. The reality is that rhino poaching in South Africa will never end until there is a deterrent, and currently there is no deterrent because there is no minimum sentencing. On our borders, in Mozambique it is 16 years, and in Zimbabwe it is 9 years.
Most rhino poaching cases do not get to trial, and if there is a conviction, it is either a fine, or a prison term of less than five years that almost never gets served in its entirety.
Rewind to 2017, when I asked former Deputy Minister of Justice John Jeffery why there is no minimum sentencing for rhino poaching, he responded that it is because the government does not like to fill its prisons.
We would appreciate the opportunity to please present to the Ministry of Environment our case for implementing meaningful legislation to protect rhinos - because what is good for rhinos is good for South Africans.
Our colleagues on the frontline are being gunned down in the streets. Rhino poaching is fuelling organised crime; weapons trafficking, cash in transit, and crimes against humanity. We are burnt out. We need this crisis to end, and if it ends it will be the best financially viable option for the country.
Section 24 of the Constitution states: Everyone has the right to: an environment which is not harmful to their health or well-being. The rhino is sacred to South Africa’s history and culture, dating back to the 13th Century and the Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe.
Saving the Wild is the inspiration for a movie being produced by an Academy Award winning team, with plans to shoot in South Africa next year. Both local and abroad, many of the world’s most respected and influential people are supporting our pursuit of justice. Working together, we can bring a positive ending to this tragic time in our history, and rise once again to be a global conservation success story.
Please do consider. We eagerly await your response.
We will be launching our global campaign on World Rhino Day, 22 September.
Sincerely,
Jamie Joseph
Saving the Wild
With support from Dr Jane Goodall, Roots & Shoots and many of the world's most respected and influential people.
Saving the Wild is the inspiration for a movie currently being produced by Hollywood star Margot Robbie and her production company LuckyChap.
9,152
The Issue
--- PLEASE SIGN (CONFIRM VIA EMAIL!!) AND SHARE THE PETITION | THE BLOODSHED MUST STOP ---
Follow the campaign on social media:
Instagram: @jamie_savingthewild
Instagram: @saving_the_wild
Facebook: Saving the Wild
Issued by Saving the Wild and Jane Goodall Institute 'Roots & Shoots'.
We are asking the SA government to bring the end game to the crisis and introduce meaningful legislation that effectively deters wildlife crime.
More than 10 000 rhinos have been killed since 2010.
Very few poachers or traffickers ever go to prison.
Our rhino warriors are being gunned down in the streets and in front of their families by powerful criminal syndicates.
The below letter was sent to the Ministers on 2 September 2024. We are making good progress behind the scenes, but we need tens of thousands of signatures to prove to the government that this is the will of the people.
For attention: South Africa Minister of Environment Dr Dion George and Deputy Minister Mr Narend Singh.
Since 2016, Saving the Wild has led the charge against corruption enabling rhino poaching and the dismantling of poaching syndicates.
History was made on Friday 16 August, with the first ever conviction of a rhino syndicate crime boss - except it did not happen in South Africa, home to around 80% of the world’s rhino population.
Every day, every year, we wake up and fight the same enemy, because the courts in South Africa are so rampant with corruption. Saving the Wild is amicus curiae in the ongoing disciplinary hearing of suspended KZN court president Eric Nzimande where he is facing 162 charges. The court corruption criminal trial in the High Court has just begun. A common factor in both the disciplinary and criminal is rhino poaching.
It is no better in Greater Kruger where our partners have been responsible for the arrests of hundreds of rhino poachers, and only four have ever resulted in convictions. Skukuza court in Kruger National Park is not a reflection of reality. The reality is that rhino poaching in South Africa will never end until there is a deterrent, and currently there is no deterrent because there is no minimum sentencing. On our borders, in Mozambique it is 16 years, and in Zimbabwe it is 9 years.
Most rhino poaching cases do not get to trial, and if there is a conviction, it is either a fine, or a prison term of less than five years that almost never gets served in its entirety.
Rewind to 2017, when I asked former Deputy Minister of Justice John Jeffery why there is no minimum sentencing for rhino poaching, he responded that it is because the government does not like to fill its prisons.
We would appreciate the opportunity to please present to the Ministry of Environment our case for implementing meaningful legislation to protect rhinos - because what is good for rhinos is good for South Africans.
Our colleagues on the frontline are being gunned down in the streets. Rhino poaching is fuelling organised crime; weapons trafficking, cash in transit, and crimes against humanity. We are burnt out. We need this crisis to end, and if it ends it will be the best financially viable option for the country.
Section 24 of the Constitution states: Everyone has the right to: an environment which is not harmful to their health or well-being. The rhino is sacred to South Africa’s history and culture, dating back to the 13th Century and the Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe.
Saving the Wild is the inspiration for a movie being produced by an Academy Award winning team, with plans to shoot in South Africa next year. Both local and abroad, many of the world’s most respected and influential people are supporting our pursuit of justice. Working together, we can bring a positive ending to this tragic time in our history, and rise once again to be a global conservation success story.
Please do consider. We eagerly await your response.
We will be launching our global campaign on World Rhino Day, 22 September.
Sincerely,
Jamie Joseph
Saving the Wild
With support from Dr Jane Goodall, Roots & Shoots and many of the world's most respected and influential people.
Saving the Wild is the inspiration for a movie currently being produced by Hollywood star Margot Robbie and her production company LuckyChap.
9,152
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Petition created on 18 September 2024