An Inside Look at the World’s Biggest Rhino Farm - John Hume Rhino Farmer

An Inside Look at the World’s Biggest Rhino Farm

He world’s largest private rhino breeder, John Hume, is on the verge of bankruptcy, leaving questions open as to what happens to his 1,626 Southern white rhinos, held on his property, Buffalo Dream Ranch, in North West Province, South Africa.

In this Thorny Issue, we discuss why this has happened and what could be done to secure a future for Hume’s rhinos.

Who is John Hume?
John Hume has the largest number of privately owned rhinos in the world, almost all of them being Southern white rhinos, currently listed as ‘Near Threatened’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. These are monitored and protected at the 8,000 hectare Buffalo Dream Ranch (BDR), near the North West province town of Klerksdorp, which is defined as a Captive Breeding Operation (CBO) under Threatened Or Protected Species (TOPS) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulations.

Hume is probably best known for challenging the South African Government’s moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn, an extended legal case that he eventually won in 2017. He also appeared in the 2017 documentary, Trophy, in which he shared his views on legalising the trade in rhino horn.

Hume has regularly stated that he believes a legal trade is the only way to stop the poaching crisis, arguing that the escalating security costs for rhino owners and managers of wild rhino populations alike are unsustainable. He further states that a renewably sourced rhino horn could one day meet demand from Asia, that better law enforcement is unlikely to end the trade alone and that the failure of a regulated ivory market is not comparable to the situation with rhino horn, as ivory cannot be harvested without killing elephants.

Hume refutes the notion that his and other breeders’ primary aim is to make money from a legal trade, arguing that the costs of rhino protection are currently shouldered by private owners and that funds generated from his horn sale will go back into conservation. In January 2018, Hume announced that he was partnering with a local NGO to implement a Southern Africa Community Rhino Breeding Programme, aimed at increasing the rhino population and in the process, create opportunities for rural communities to benefit from rhinos and then stop collaborating with poachers.

Why does John Hume keep rhinos?
Both white and black rhinos are bred at BDR, though the majority are white rhinos, the less endangered of the two species. As a CBO, the rhinos are managed more intensively than they would be in the wild, with supplementary food, regular veterinary care, a gender skew towards females, and a proactively managed stud book. The population is estimated to grow by around 10% annually, with a prediction that Hume will successfully breed 200 calves in 2018. Hume’s rhinos make up approx. 8% of the global Southern white rhino population.

Every rhino at Hume’s ranch is dehorned. This cyclical routine takes place when a rhino’s horn has grown back sufficiently since it was last removed, approximately every two to three years. Each time, the rhino is anaesthetised for this operation. Hume’s stated main reason for dehorning is to deter poachers; it has also enabled him to build a stockpile of more than six tons.

Hume has repeatedly said that being able to sell off his stockpile would allow him to pay for the costs of keeping rhinos, noting: “If I don’t get money to protect my rhino they will be dead…what I am doing here is simply not sustainable. I am using my life-savings and it can’t last.”

It has been reported that Hume spends R5 million (US $400,000) every month in security costs alone to look after his rhinos. Unfortunately, this has not completely stopped poachers, with around 40 rhinos having been killed since 2014. The huge cost of keeping his rhinos safe from poachers, as well as paying for feed, veterinary care and staff, has seemingly made it impossible to continue under the current financial model.

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