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Nearly 10% of World’s Remaining Rhinos in Crisis

Mom Natalya, and her calf Gugu. BDR's first F2 rhino.

Feeding time at the BDR Hand-Rear Facility

BDR's Poaching Quick Reaction Team

The Rhinos of Buffalo Dream Ranch need assistance from an impassioned public to ensure their ongoing protection and to save this iconic species from extinction.

The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”
— Robert Swan
KLERKSDORP, NORTHWEST PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA, July 15, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A Very Public Good News Story:
Buffalo Dream Ranch (BDR) is the world's largest Captive Rhino Breeding Project and is hidden away in the flat, dry savanna of the North West Province of South Africa. BDR was founded and funded entirely by one passionate and humble man, John Hume. John, now 76, has bred more than 1,285 rhinos in his lifetime, and he, together with his dedicated team currently care for and protect 1,632 rhinos. They recently celebrated the birth of their first “F2”, or second generation, rhino calf on their project which is an outstanding achievement for any breeding operation. Over 300 of their dams (females) are pregnant right now, and due to give birth over the next 18 months, many more of which will be “F2’s”. This equates to close to 10% of the world’s remaining White Rhinos. BDR’s mission is simple. It is “To Breed Better and Protect Better” in their attempt to move this iconic species away from extinction. They hope this financial year to eventually meet their breeding target of 200 calves per annum.

BDR’s Very Private Financial Crisis:
After investing US$100 million of his life’s savings into this cause, John has now finally reached the end of his financial wherewithal to continue protecting these rhinos. This cash flow crisis they find themselves in has caused BDR to give notice of termination to the private army of foot soldiers who protect their rhino, as they can no longer afford their services. In fact, as soon as August this year, there will be no money left to even fund the day-to-day operation of the project, leaving the future of nearly 2,000 rhinos in severe jeopardy. We simply cannot sit by and watch a project of such significance to the conservation of our rhino, collapse due to a lack of funding.

The Reason Why:
John has always maintained that key to the success of BDR, and in fact to saving the rhino from extinction, is legalised trade in rhino horn. BDR routinely trim horns primarily to render their rhino less attractive to poachers, and thereby limiting the exorbitant cost of protection. They currently hold a stockpile of over 6.5 tons of horn in vaults around South Africa, which if valued at the reported wholesale price of US$20,000 per kg, amounts to US$130 million. Just imagine how much ‘good’ all this money could do for the conservation of African rhino, if only it was released into the pockets of legitimate rhino owners, instead of lining the pockets of criminals! Sadly though, the CITES ban on international trade persists, and the South African Government continue to hamper the sale of horn in our domestic market, and as a result, the BDR project find themselves in this very difficult financial situation. It should also be noted that BDR has, to date, not received a single cent of support from any Government, NGO or Charity throughout their journey.

Proposed Solutions:
There are a number of alternative initiatives currently underway which, with the help of an impassioned public, might just be able to steer BDR through their cashflow crisis, and secure the future of nearly 2,000 rhinos. These include:

1) Search for one or more partners - Probably the most viable solution is for John to find one or more wealthy impact investors with a passion for conservation of rhino, and a recognition of the potential for returns through trade in horn. He is ready to sell up to 50% of his BDR Captive Breeding Operation (CBO) to secure the future of his rhino. These partners would then work together with John to continue lobbying both the South African Government and CITES to ease up the horn trade environment and deliver BDR to sustainability through a legal and sustainable trade in horn. A search for these illusive benefactors is currently underway, and BDR would be grateful if any party interested, and in a position to provide the required investment, would make urgent contact through details provided herein.

As an impassioned public, your role could be to spread the word far and wide in the hopes of reaching one of these investors.

2) Rhino Coin - The second initiative is the recently launched, and still relatively unknown Rhino Coin. This is an innovative new proudly South African Crypto-Conservation initiative that issues 1 Rhino Coin for every 1g of ethically sourced blood-free horn secured in vaults in South Africa. See https://www.rhinocoin.com/ for more details of how you can get involved. A Foundation has been established by Rhino Coin to ensure proceeds go directly back to real live rhinos on the ground. Rhino Coin is currently tradable against ZAR, Bitcoin and Ethereum, and can be traded on the CornuEx exchange.

An impassioned public could make a real and immediate difference to the Rhinos of BDR by registering at https://trade.cornuex.com/refer.html?ref=1063 and investing in Rhino Coin today.

3) Indiegogo Crowdfunding Campaign - The final initiative is a direct appeal to the hearts and minds of a very generous public for donations through and Indiegogo Campaign which can be found here www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-protect-rhinos-from-poachers-security-community. Funds from this campaign will go directly towards the implementation of a state-of-the-art early warning electronic security system which will significantly cut BDR’s monthly running costs and allow them to continue the good work they are doing breeding rhino. The campaign story in this link contains a lot more detail behind the amazing BDR project and is well worth a read, regardless of whether or not you intend to donate.

As Robert Swan, the first man to walk to both Poles, once said, “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”. We simply cannot afford, as a responsible and caring public, to sit idly by and watch the demise of this most important conservation project. So, if you care about conservation of Africa’s wildlife, and more importantly saving the rhino from extinction, then please pick one or all of the above solutions and make your difference today.

Lael Heasman
Buffalo Dream Ranch
+27824599412
email us here

Listen to John Hume, in person, talking about the plight of hs rhino and how Rhino Coin might be the solution.

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