We recap the vicuna vs rhino horn trade debate from episode 6. National Geographic cut all staff writers – and no-one is happy about it. Rhino stockpiles were raided in South Africa. Can't say we didn't see this coming... And again it's an inside job.  New York DEC puts confiscated ivory on display, but is it a good idea? Conservation struggles in UK and Scotland, illustrating again that the challenge is indeed global. GEF launches new fund that raises hope, but will the funds get to those...

The trade in the South American vicūna is often used as an example of how lifting trade bans can help people and animals alike, but is it a fair comparison for the rhino horn trade debate? Namibia is planning a mass dehorning. Is the government of that country bolstering rhino horn stockpiles ahead of their next effort to open trade? A recent study answers the question of what impact does dehorning have on rhino behavior.  Rhino poaching gang sentenced to terms ranging from 16-20 years.  Two...

Poaching kingpin arrested. A recent report highlights the dynamic nature of global rhino horn seizures, with interesting results. With COVID having little impact on the size and frequency of seizures, we ask, yet again, why are we not inspecting and accounting for stockpiled rhino horn? Poached rhino horn transport is changing. Transit routes are evolving but what is influencing this? Yet another article about the claimed values of trophy hunting ignores the consistent fight to deregulate...

A break through in the rhino poaching crisis with an arrest in South Africa’s eastern cape province. What will it mean to poaching activity in the area? Do new game fences work to slow poaching? We question the recent investments in new security fences to protect rhino.  A recent and seemingly bizarre series of events has seen a dramatic intervention with the new proposed changes to TOPS (Threatened Or Protected Species) regulations. What actually happened and what does it mean for...

Episode 2 of this season attracted a lot of interest and comment, we answer your questions in this episode: The Platinum Rhino auction fails to solicit a successful bidder – what’s next for Hume and his rhino? We give the updates. Rhino Horn trade is unlikely, but the current revenue models are also flawed – what are the challenges in innovating a new approach where renewables, carbon markets, ESG investments and the like are combined?  Why is trade so challenging, surely we can flood the...

With the world’s largest rhino breeding facility up for auction, the team discusses the potential outfall of this huge event. Love him or hate him, John Hume plays an important role in rhino conservation. His often brash commitment to opening rhino horn trade has no doubt contributed to the divisiveness in rhino conservation., but one thing that cannot be denied is  his success in breeding rhino on an enormous scale. With public opinion divided as ever, it is important to understand how we...

Munu the blind black rhino finds a new home. The team contemplates the “region beta paradox” as a reason why we don’t see sufficient urgency and how this influences donor expectations in conservation circles.  Julian Rademeyr’s latest report showcases a grim reality of corruption and its influence on wildlife crime around Kruger National Park. In the weeks after the release, alleged kingpin, Chief Clyde Mnisi, is assassinated and shortly thereafter his wife is gunned down in her home. We...

Minister Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s minister of the Department of Environment Forest and Fisheries, recently released the much-anticipated white paper that addresses the “One Welfare” commitment she made over a year ago. And it is a big step forward. We unpack the white paper and what it means for conservation efforts as well as issues of sentience and socio-economic transformation.  Research suggests that Botswana’s reintroduction of trophy hunting has not worked in its promise to offer...

Peter struggles with Covid, Simon can’t remember where he is, and Shannon holds down the fort. 5 African countries sign the Hwange declaration - a commitment to pressure CITES to open trade in ivory for one fire sale. The concept is fundamentally flawed and as usual, this for the trade wrap their arguments up in poorly researched or blatantly inaccurate data - we explain why. Deforestation accelerates in Brazil. We unpack the empty promises made at COP26 in Glasgow last year. Should you be...

Rob Barber from Golden Africa Safaris in Botswana. Rob gives us updates on travel trends after COVID. Join Rob in the Okavango Delta - Go on a one-of-a-kind safari in Botswana June 9-17, 2022 with Golden Africa Safaris! Our listeners get 10% off with the discount code “SEF”.  Green Century Funds are holding Home Depot accountable for where they source their plywood. But are Home Depot’s shareholders supporting this proposal? Are K9s effective in the illegal wildlife trade? What about dog...

Simon joins us from the US through modern technology. Poachers tranquilize rhino to remove horn in Orang National Park in Assam Despite the poaching attempt in India, can you believe that the Indian Rhino numbers could actually be up? This year there was an Indian Rhino census—guess what the total was? Is it okay to protect animals even at the expense of the surrounding communities? Would community intelligence officers work in South Africa the way they work in India? We discuss the need to...

Show Notes: S2 E19 – The Weekly News 05-12-2022 with Shannon Elizabeth, Peter Borchert & a special guest interview with Dr. Louise de Waal/Blood Lions Simon is in the USA, so Shannon and Peter are in charge.  Peter is updating Rhino Review, while Shannon helped to take care of a 6-day-old baby rhino over the weekend.  Peter talks about the evolution of rhinos across 55 million years.  Do you know what the largest land mammal ever to have lived was? A story in Science Magazine notes that a...

Trophy hunter kills Botswana’s largest elephant, and claims he is a hero. With just $50k paid for the hunt, the arguments in defense of this senseless past time of killing for fun are getting thinner and thinner. Simon calls out trophy hunters to engage in discussion in one final bid to understand the psychology in taking pleasure in killing and suffering. Canada’s seal clubbing season opens. With just 3% of kills being attributed to traditional use by the indigenous Innuits, we debate the...

As we focus on the ongoing poaching stats, it is important to quantify the good work being done. Peter shares some successes in prosecutions across Africa to India for poaching related crimes. We must support the people on the front lines more than ever. Care For Wild Rhino Sanctuary takes in another orphan. If you can support them, please do so. They do extraordinary work. Indonesia’s challenges with palm oil production continues as suspicion grows as the government is accused of collusion...

A new scholarship that supports young African women entering the conservation economy, opens its applications for the 2023 academic year this Friday, 1 April. Peter’s editorial focuses on how do we address the issues of education, but also the major shortcomings in the funding of global conservation. Could subsidy reform at a government level play a role?  7 members of the African Parks Network team murdered by Islamic extremists in Benin sends chilling warning to conservation communities all...

Massive sink holes are appearing on the seabed of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic with  melting permafrost to blame. Is this a sign of accelerated climate change?  New research from 2 American universities suggests that the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, which was instituted to tax hunters for unregulated hunting, is the reason why conservation claims by trophy hunters are so exaggerated.  More evidence suggests that South Africa’s recent trophy hunting quotas offers little...

South Africa’s minister of the Department of Fisheries, Forest and the Environment recently announced South Africa’s commitment to trophy hunting by publicising the trophy hunting quota for the year ahead. Included in the heady mix of commercialised blood lust are 150 elephant, 10 leopard and shockingly, 10 critically endangered black rhino.  Given the continued poaching crisis, the incompleteness of the commitment to end captive lion breeding and intense rhino breeding, the ministry seems to...

No discussion about the state of our planet, most notably our oceans, is complete without the inclusion of Her Deepness, Dr Sylvia Earle. For more than half a century Sylvia has been one of the loudest and most articulate voices of reason and science in the pursuit to not only protect and correct the state of the ocean, but also in inspiring others to do the same. In this episode, Simon and Sylvia discuss her latest book, a collaboration with the National Geographic Society entitled “Ocean, A...

Rob Barber from Golden Africa Safaris joins us in studio as we discuss our reaction to a poorly penned article that argues for trophy hunting as a suggested force for conservation. Debate rages as we explore this contentious issue. Is the value of trophy hunting overstated? Are local communities truly engaged with? What drive trophy hunting as conservation?  Simon points out that arguing that anti hunters are the emotional ones, misses the point – are trophy hunters the overly emotional ones...

The Anthropocene. What are the real implications and how quickly is it all happening?  Does Leonardo di Caprio’s latest film, Don’t Look Up hit the mark? Is  poverty being reversed? Are our political  and economic systems fit for purpose to reverse the damage big business has caused on the planet?   If there were no conservation or environmental charities in the world, where would be?   Some big questions unpacked on this week’s show…

2022 is off to a rocky start. Peter Borchert and Simon Borchert talk about the devastating news of the passing of Dr Richard Leakey, an icon of global conservation. But what lessons did Richard, Betty White and others leave for us in how we make sure that we continue their work and legacies? Simon provides feedback on the Christmas campaign to raise funds for Daisy, a 12 hour old rhino calf that was rescued by Care For Wild Sanctuary. Her road to recovery is a tough one, but we can support...

Simon & Peter talk about their conservation heroes of 2021. The list could be endless, but we talk about the recent passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, E.O. Wilson and Thomas Lovejoy and celebrate Dr Esmond Martin, Wangari Maathai, Merlyn Nkomo, Dr John Hanks, Peter Fearnhead, Jane Goodall and Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka as some of this year’s conservation heroes. We wish all our listeners a prosperous, successful and exciting 2022. The fight to save our wild places has never been tougher, but...

Peter and Simon talk about the spike in poaching in South Africa and how the problem is spreading across the country. Isn’t it time we put divisive arguments of trade or no trade aside for us to focus on the triage, the immediate urgency to collaborate and halt the poaching before there is nothing left to trade? And how will long term strategies include the empowerment of indigenous people? Authentic socio-economic transformation must be central to Africa’s future. 5 orphans in 3 weeks. The...

Peter Borchert is in studio! Shell loses deal in Cambo but continues with the controversial seismic surveys in South Africa. Meanwhile, a French company Visio Terra finds evidence of over 18,000 oil slicks off Africa’s west coast and the Niger Delta continues to suffer an oil spill that has been active since 5 November. When will corporations be held accountable for the continued negligence? Unresolved land claims continue in Kruger National Park. Elle Magazine bans any advertising or content...