Target: Carina Bruwer, Manager of Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife in Trade Program
Goal: Support prosecutions and sentencing of individuals implicated in massive rhino horn trafficking operation.
The rhino horn trade has surged in recent years, as thousands of rhinos – many endangered – have been poached just so their horns can be stolen. This ForceChange petition called out the criminal enterprises that are profiting from these illegal trafficking rings and demanded legal accountability. South Africa, which is home to a third of the world’s black rhino population and three-quarters of its white rhino population, has finally answered and gotten the legal wheels turning.
The country recently concluded a nearly two-decade-long odyssey involving the world’s biggest rhino horn trafficking case. Dawie Groenewald, a former safari operator and the accused “mastermind” of the trafficking ring, joined Tielman Erasmus in facing over 1,700 charges ranging from illegal dehorning and hunting to money laundering. Despite a series of delays that postponed justice for years, the first sentences have now been handed down. The sentences included three to four years of prison and significant fines. Other charges are still pending.
Sign the petition below to thank the organization that has remained diligent in holding perpetrators of organized wildlife crime accountable.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Ms. Bruwer,
“Until entire networks and supply chains driving everything from demand to supply are effectively targeted and dismantled, the illegal harvesting and trade in rhino horns will continue.” You recently made this statement in regard to the prosecution of wildlife crime kingpins. The sentence of Dawie Groenewald and his accomplice – a sentence decades in the making – represents an important step forward.
Thank you for your continued diligence in ensuring wildlife traffickers face legal consequences and in advocating for stringent and meaningful international responses to these literal crimes against nature.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Athuman Komora Garisse
