[birdky] Norton Announces Emergency Grants to Stop Elephant and Rhino Slau ghter in Africa
- From: Elizabeth.Ciuzio@xxxxxx
- To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 14:04:23 -0400
This isn't about birds, but I know it is a topic that you all care about.
A small group of committed people can make a difference, only this time the
group is committed to wiping out the last wild population of white rhinos.
Very sadly yours,
Beth
Office of the Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Hugh Vickery
July 12, 2004 202-501-4633
Norton Announces Emergency Grants to Stop
Elephant and Rhino Slaughter in Africa
(WASHINGTON) -- Interior Secretary Gale Norton today announced
$140,000 in emergency grants to stop the illegal slaughter of elephants and
rhinoceros in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo
along the country's border with Sudan.
The Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding the
grants to the non-profit International Rhino Foundation, which is leading
the effort to stop poaching by Sudanese poachers, known as "the horsemen,"
who kill the elephants and rhinos to acquire ivory and horns for sale on
the black market.
"The Sudanese horseman have killed almost 1,000 elephants in the past
year and are on the verge of eliminating the last wild population of
northern white rhinos," Norton said. "The emergency grants will help train
and equip park rangers and allow aerial surveillance by anti-poaching
teams."
Garamba rangers have been overwhelmed by the heavily armed poachers,
and two rangers have been killed while defending the park.
"These poachers are unscrupulous and violent, motivated by greed,"
Norton said. "They have systematically destroyed wildlife populations
throughout the Central African savannas and now they are focusing on what's
left in the Garamba National Park."
In April, park rangers sighted a poacher on horseback, six armed men
on foot and approximately 25 donkeys with heavy packs. In their wake, the
rangers found 12 freshly-dead elephants and two rhinos with only ivory
tusks, and horns removed.
"If something isn't done immediately, the Northern White rhino will
probably be lost forever." said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director
Steve Williams. "We need to give the Garamba rangers the help they need to
protect these rare animals."
The grants are being issued through the Service's "Wildlife Without
Borders" program that administers funds appropriated by Congress for
conservation of wild animals and their natural habitats. A grant of $84,900
is being awarded under the African Elephant Conservation Fund; a second
grant in the amount of $55,400 is being awarded from the Rhinoceros and
Tiger Conservation Fund. These grants cannot be used to purchase firearms.
The Service expects international conservation organizations and
private donors to contribute as much as $150,000 in additional support. The
International Rhino Foundation is working in partnership with other
organizations such as Conservation International, the International
Elephant Foundation, Save the Rhino International, the Wildlife
Conservation Society, the Frankfurt Zoological Society, the World Wildlife
Fund, the Zoological Society of London, the World Bank and the United
Nations Foundation-UNESCO.
In 1980, Garamba National Park was established by the United Nations
as a "World Heritage Site." In 1996, it was listed as a "World Heritage
Site in Danger."
-DOI-
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