This veterinarian dehorns rhinos to fight poachers | National

By Sejal Mandal on SWNS

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

Dr. Chloe Buiting, 31, is part of a team in South Africa fighting the poaching crisis that has led to significant devastation of the rhino population.

The country, which is home to 93 percent of the continent's white rhinos and 39 percent of the endangered black rhinos, is the epicenter of the crisis.

Since 2008, the number of poachers has increased dramatically: in 2007, 13 rhinos were killed, in 2008, 83, and in 2014, over 1,200.

Dr Buiting, a wildlife veterinarian from Kangaroo Island in Australia, said: “Rhinos were becoming extinct faster than they could reproduce.

“It became clear that we had to act quickly or risk losing them forever.

“It is an emergency intervention and it works, but the fight is far from over.”

In the controversial dehorning process, the rhinos are stunned with tranquilizer darts from a helicopter.

To reduce the stress caused by dehorning, the rhinos are blindfolded and wear earplugs.

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

The process is completed by applying horse hoof oil to prevent the horn from cracking and drying out.

Dr. Buiting said: “The dehorning procedure looks drastic but is painless.

“The horn grows back in about 18 to 24 months, so we have to repeat the procedure and this is not a permanent solution.

“But it significantly reduces the animal’s value 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 rejected by national parks for tourism reasons, is now a widespread practice as the rhino population declines due to poaching.

Dr Buiting said: “While some parks forgo dehorning, it is usually because they can afford extensive security measures such as cameras and patrols to protect their rhinos.”

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