Local rhinos given new lease of life Down Under in fight for survival
The first group of at least 30 SA rhinos is set to emigrate to Australia in 2019 to help ensure the survival of the species. Zookeepers and conservationists have been fencing and vegetating a 560ha open-plains area for a new "insurance population" of African rhinos at Monarto Zoo, about 60km from Adelaide in south Australia. It seems likely that the animals will have to spend up to a year at the Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch, New Zealand, because of rigorous biosecurity and quarantine requirements by the Australian government. The Australian Rhino Project was established in 2013, aiming to relocate a significant population of rhino to a separate continent because of the horn poaching crisis, which has led to 1,000 rhino killings annually in SA for five consecutive years. While the project has been criticised by some as a "neo-colonial" venture, SA rhino conservationist Ian Player voiced strong support for it before he died in 2014.
He said some parts of Australia contain...
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