This vet dehorns rhinos to fight poachers

By Sejal Mandal via SWNS

A veterinarian is helping save Africa’s endangered rhinos by removing their horns to deter poachers.

Dr. Chloe Buiting, 31, is part of a team in South Africa working to combat the poaching crisis that has seen the rhino population devastated.

The country, which is home to 93% of the continent’s white rhinos and 39% of its critically endangered black rhinos, has been the epicenter of the crisis.

Since 2008, the poaching numbers have skyrocketed with 13 rhinos killed in 2007, 83 in 2008 and over 1,200 in 2014.

Dr. Buiting, a wildlife veterinarian from Kangaroo Island, Australia, said “Rhinos were being lost faster than they were reproducing.

"It became clear that we had to act fast or risk losing them forever.

"It’s an emergency intervention and it's working, but the battle is far from over.”

The controversial dehorning process involves sedating the rhinos by darting them from a helicopter.

The rhinos are blindfolded and ear-plugs are used to help reduce stress caused by the dehorning.

The horns are then cut using a chainsaw and the base is smoothed using a grinder.

The process ends with the application of equine hoof oil, which is used to prevent the horn from cracking and drying out.

Dr. Buiting said: "The dehorning procedure looks graphic but it is painless.

"The horn regrows in about 18 to 24 months, so we have to repeat the process and this isn’t a permanent solution.

"But it significantly reduces the value of the animal to poachers, which can be life-saving."

The removed horns are stored in a government vault as part of South Africa’s national stockpile.

Poachers target rhino horns, which can fetch up to a quarter of a million dollars on the black market.

Dehorning, once resisted by national parks for tourism reasons, is now widely practiced as rhino populations decline due to poaching.

Dr. Buiting said: "While some parks avoid dehorning, it's typically because they can afford extensive security measures like cameras and patrols to protect their rhinos."

With rhino populations in some regions dropping by as much as 96%, experts estimate the species could be extinct in the wild within a decade.

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