Rhino-DNA-sampling training workshop held in Skukuza
The database presently includes over 10 000 samples from black and white rhinoceros from Africa. These have been collected over the last three years and have provided important forensic evidence which have played a vital role in a number on prosecutions
SKUKUZA – The first international rhino-DNA-sampling training workshop was held this week in an attempt to enhance the world’s enforcement capacity to address the wave of poaching that has resulted in the killing of 825 animals in the country since the beginning of this year.
Five hundred of them were slaughtered in the Kruger National Park (KNP).
The South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and the University of Pretoria’s Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, in collaboration with the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), hosted the workshop at the Southern African Wildlife College near Hoedspruit, which included field training in Kruger.
Law-enforcement officers from each of the 11 African rhinoceros range states, as well as from China, Thailand and Vietnam, and South African national parks, participated. The capacity of these officers working along national borders, at border posts and in protected areas to detect, investigate and prosecute offenders involved in rhino poaching and illegal horn trade has been boosted through a series of lectures and field visits to the park to partake in the physical DNA sampling of rhino that had been poached within it. Special focus was given to the increased use of rhino-horn DNA sampling to combat wildlife crime.
South Africa welcomes the hosting of an international rhino-DNA sampling workshop since we are the country most seriously affected by rhino poaching that is largely driven by international wildlife trafficking. The presentation of this seminar supports the decision by Cites at the 16th Conference of Parties in Thailand in March that all range states, transit and consumer states should strengthen compliance and enforcement,” said deputy director general: biodiversity and conservation in the department of environmental affairs, Mr Fundisile Mketeni.
Law-enforcement officials will emerge from the DNA training better equipped with the necessary tools and knowledge to enable them to effectively counter illicit wildlife trade. This includes specific investigative techniques and the increased use of wildlife forensics, which can be applied during follow-up actions that should be taken when seizures are made, crime scenes are investigated, information is being gathered or evidence is being presented to court.
The officials have been provided with focused training on the identification of rhino horn, rhino-horn DNA sampling and wildlife-crime scene investigation. Participants have also been educated in the utilisation of ICCWC tools and services to enhance their crime-investigation capabilities.
ICCWC is a collaborative effort by the secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), Interpol, the United Nations Offfice on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Bank and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) to bring coordinated support to the national wildlife law-enforcement agencies and to the subregional and regional networks that act in defence of natural resources.
In collaboration with its ICCWC partners, the UNODC commissioned the development of the ICCWC Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit, which provides countries with a technical resource that enables them to undertake a national assessment with the aim to understand the main issues relating to wildlife and forest offences, and identify technical assistance needs.The toolkit was launched in 2012, with the financial backing of the World Bank Development Grant Facility, to effectively combat illegal wildlife trade, which is estimated at between $16 and $27 billion a year globally, including timber and marine species.
Some of the most lucrative illegal wildlife commodities include tiger parts, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and exotic birds and reptiles, while the recent World Bank study Justice for Forests recognizes that illegal trade in timber deprives states of over $10 billion in annual revenue.
Cites secretary general Mr John E Scanlon said, “We are supporting countries in deploying the technologies and techniques they need to fight back against escalating wildlife crime. Drawing on South Africa’s expertise, we are expanding the use of forensic technologies, with DNA test results often being critical for securing successful prosecutions. These collaborative efforts directly respond to the decisive actions taken by Cites parties earlier this year to better combat wildlife crime.”
The recently developed eRhODIS application was also introduced and launched during the workshop with Samsung as the exclusive technology partner. This application provides the information-technology backbone to support RhODIS.
Dr Cindy Harper, director of the veterinary genetics laboratory at the University of Pretoria, said, “RhODIS continues to play a vitally important role supporting rhinoceros-crime prosecutions in South Africa and its implementation and utilisation internationally could play a key role in bringing persons involved in international wildlife crime syndicates to book.”
The workshop was made possible by funding generously provided to ICCWC by the government of the Netherlands.
RhODIS was developed to assist in addressing the increase in rhino poaching, smuggling of rhino horn and recovery/confiscation of horn and related products by consumer states by the veterinary genetics laboratory at the University of Pretoria’s faculty of veterinary science. It involves the collection of DNA samples of live and poached rhinoceros across the country as well as all stockpiled horns, to create a DNA database with the unique profiles of individual animals.
The database presently includes over 10 000 samples from black and white rhinoceros from Africa. These have been collected over the last three years and have provided important forensic evidence which have played a vital role in a number on prosecutions.
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