Bulletin #11 August 2015.
This Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species or RAGES is a Rotarian Action Group and operates in accordance with Rotary International policy but is not an agency of, or controlled by Rotary International.
1. AUGUST CHAIR REPORT
G ‘ day
My sincere apologies for not getting the August Newsletter out before now. It has been a busy time for me personally due to work requirements.
Also August and right up to now since the last newsletter has been very busy Rotary wise. We have also been working behind the scenes with our RISK Boxes. Within a week or so of you receiving this newsletter we will have the RISK Boxes up on the web site with a new system for donating to these boxes initially for rhinos and the project that we are supporting:
The Chipembere Rhino Foundation
I welcome any feed back from you all on how you feel your club and or district can get behind these RISK Boxes. We would like to share your ideas on our web site, in the newsletter and on our Facebook page. It is early days however Jo Wilmot our RAGES Project Director has done a great job with these boxes and they will be refined as we get going.
RAGES will soon be incorporated in New South Wales Australia with our Bylaws as sent to us by Rotary International. We will also be applying to the Rotary Australia World Community Service RAWCS for Australian Tax Exemption for donors who qualify.
We have booked a booth in the House of Friendship for RICON 2016 in Seoul. We will probably be allowed a breakout session as well as holding our First AGM in Seoul. Can you get back to me if you will be in Seoul and can help with the RAGES booth please?
Yours in Rotary
John Glassford
Chair 2014 -2016
Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species
Rotary Club of Coolamon District 9700
New South Wales, Australia
2. THE POSTER CAMPAIGN.
Our latest signature to the Say NO! Poster Campaign is Jeremy Irons:
Jeremy Irons Says No! A legend in our books. A total honour to have him on our campaign. A man with a big heart and a big voice. From “Save Ireland’s Forests”, “Climate Revolution”, abolishing the death penalty with “Amnesty International” to his work with “Greenpeace – Save The Arctic”, and his epic narration for the amazing “Seeds Of Freedom” film, which we adore, the list is endless.
His input in changing the world for a better place is outstanding, especially the plastic and pollution issues of our oceans and world. We can’t praise it enough. One would say we have fallen in love. An incredible man. Thank you Jeremy Irons
For more information on other causes Jeremy Irons supports please visit: http://jeremyirons.com/
RAGES Facebook Page
RAGES One Fight Unite Facebook Page
STAY TUNED FOR THE SAY NO! POSTER CAMPAIGN LAUNCH!
3. HOPE & FRIENDS.
This is not Hope but another three rhinos who lost their horns to poachers, Shame on the end users in the main Vietnam time to get this to those who buy rhino horn.
Some good news: Here’s an update on the three rhino and calf that survived an attack by poachers two weeks ago in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, which were photographed a day before the incident by Tracey Sadie who shared her photos here. (The fourth, an adult male, died from his injuries).
Despite having their horns hacked off at the base, all are managing and healing well, and the calf has settled in and is feeding happily from his mother.
Latest News on Hope Below:
“Hope is now settled in her new Medivet Rhino rehabilitation enclosure! Seeing her with much more space, grass to munch on and her own shelter to trot into when she feels like it, was a big step forward for us all”
Keep up to date on our Facebook page for RAGES.
4. RAGES NEWS FEATURE
i. Desperate Elephants Shot With Poison Arrows Travel To Humans For Help
Last month, a wild elephant and two of his friends were attacked by poachers. Wounded by poisoned arrows, they trudged across the African landscape to the one place that could help them: the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT).
Though the wild elephant had never been a resident at DSWT, he knew elephants who had. He had mated with two former orphans who were raised at DSWT’s Ithumba Reintegration Centre, who now lead their own wild herd. In 2011, he fathered babies with them, whom DSWT named Mwende and Yetu.
And DSWT is certain he knew this group of humans meant help.
FULL STORY HERE
ii. Orphan Elephants Under Care
We’re all set for a day in the bush full of learning with the tiniest of orphaned elephants and our elephant carers.
The above story and the one before are just a small sample of what the David Sheldrick Wild Trust do every single day for the elephants of Kenya.
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
iii. Elephants Held Hostage
Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in Laikipia County is among the worst in East Africa. We witnessed this first hand earlier this week.
7 elephants had broken through the West Laikipia Fence and crop raided in a neighbouring community. They had done severe damage. The community was furious – understandably so – their livelihoods were at stake.
They had chased the elephants into a large dam and held them hostage. They wanted compensation. They wanted these elephants dead.
SFG chartered a helicopter from Tropic Air Kenya and together with our partners Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and The Ol Pejeta Conservancy were able to drive the elephants from the dam.
The biggest credit for the successful resolution of this incident must go to the Kenya Wildlife Service. Under trying circumstances and despite a volatile crowd they managed to bring this situation under control without bloodshed.
While we say ‘successful’ – there are no winners here.
This incident highlights the importance of the West Laikipia Fence Project – it is the only way humans and elephants will be able to live side by side.
Read the full story on the link below:
https://www.spaceforgiants.org/…
iv. US$1 million or life in prison for poaching Kenyan Court Rules.
A magistrate’s court in Narok, a town seen as the springboard to the Masai Mara Game Reserve with a string of conservancies around it, has handed down the toughest sentence yet on two Kenyan men convicted of illegal possession of ivory, illegal trading of ivory, and related charges.
Both were sentenced to either pay 100 million Kenya shillings (close to US$1 million) each or else serve a life sentence in prison. This ruling is in stark contrast to many other previous sentences handed down by magistrates, where culprits walked away with token fines, often leading to suggestions that the magistrates presiding over those cases were gotten at.
The Narok ruling attracted instant global attention, and while the two have 14 days to appeal the sentence, the magistrate’s decision has validated the several interactions between conservation groups, public prosecutors, the Kenya Wildlife Service, and magistrates and judges aimed to create awareness of the economic damage poaching is doing to Kenya as one of Africa’s leading safari destinations.
v. Meet Sammy, the Eastern Cape’s first anti-poaching Tracking and Apprehension Dog!
Sammy, a live wire 18-month-old German Shepherd with outstanding tracking and obedience skills, recently relocated to the Eastern Cape from Pretoria to help combat rhino poaching, which has increased in the Eastern Cape,South Africa in 2015.
Sammy will significantly enhance the efforts of private anti-poaching units and community patrols currently in place. Sammy’s arrival is a first for the province as her deployment is a private initiative by the Chipembere Rhino Foundation, an Eastern Cape based NGO, which has implemented and facilitated the K9 project, at a cost of approximately Rand 100,000, to assist with protecting rhino in the province.
vi. This is What Extinction Looks Like
A rhino named Sudan is being guarded by armed rangers at every moment of the day because he is the last of his kind on Earth. Sudan is the only male of the northern white rhino subspecies remaining, thanks to ruthless poaching that has reached catastrophic levels in recent years. His relatives and ancestors have been slaughtered for their horns, which are sold for huge amounts of money in Asia, where they’re believed to cure a range of ailments.
We must not let this happen on our watch with the Black Rhino and the Southern White Rhino along with the Sumatran Rhino.
5. RICON 2016 SEOUL SOUTH KOREA.
Your Board is calling for volunteers who will be in Seoul next May 28th-June 2nd 2016.
We will need help to man our RAGES Booth in the House of Friendship and also the possibility of holding a break out session.
Our AGM will also be set for Seoul.
It is a requirement as a Rotarian Action Group to hold our Annual General Meeting at the RI Convention. In 2016 it will be in Seoul.
Get back to me if you are going and can help. It is not too early to plan for this event. I will be going.
◆ Gyeongbok Palace
Yi Seong-gye founded the Chosun Dynasty in 1392 and designated Hanyang (now Seoul) as the capital. He had a new palace built there and named it Gyeongbok (Felicitous Blessing) Palace. It was burned to ashes during the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598 and rebuilt in 1867. Visitors to the palace can watch the royal guard changing ceremony every hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in front of the main gate.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 61 2 6927 6027 {61 is the code for Australia}.
Postal: 22 Moore Street, GANMAIN, NEW SOUTH WALES 2701, AUSTRALIA.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 61 2 6927 6027 {61 is the code for Australia}.
Postal: 22 Moore Street, GANMAIN, NEW SOUTH WALES 2701, AUSTRALIA.