A new initiative is using art and creativity to combat rhino poaching in South Africa.
Launched this week by non-profit organisation Rhino Disharmony, the Saviours’ Army calls for a united stance against rhino poaching with the slogan, ‘Will you stand with us?’.
The campaign’s website states: “We are fighting a war against rhino poaching and a war needs an army. But unlike the enemy we face, our army is a peaceful one. One that instead of taking lives, saves them.”
It uses evocative imagery, social media, and events such as the launch event held at the Winchester Hotel in Cape Town on Monday, to raise awareness of the plight of rhinos in South Africa and reshape perceptions about the use of rhino horn.
The event, attended by Grammy-award-winning composer Harold Faltermeyer, also featured the première of a new video produced by Dylan Boerstra, a fashion show featuring Boss Models, and rhino scarves created by the children of the Lalela art project.
The visuals for the campaign were shot at Motswari Private Game Reserve late last year by French photographer Elie Beniston, and feature the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit, the Umbabat Counter-Poaching Unit and celebrities and models, portrayed in shades of red, juxtaposed against black and white photos of rhinos.
Rhino Disharmony was founded after Motswari Game Reserve, a Kruger National Park reserve in the Newmark Hotels group, experienced a rhino killing in 2014. According to SANPark figures, the population of rhinos in the Kruger Park has declined by 77% from 8 929 in 2014 to just 2 061 in 2022.
A number of anti-poaching programmes have been launched over the past 15 years with varying degrees of success. The Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit, the first all-female anti-poaching unit founded ten years ago, is one of these. They feature prominently in the campaign.
Speaking in the video, Motswari owner Marion Geiger-Orengo says: “Syndicates are driving the sale, and actually the poor person at the end who believes that the rhino horn is going to heal him is being deceived. When the rhinos are gone, they’re gone forever – that’s it.”
Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation said they see rhino protection as a global commitment. “The survival of the rhino is a visual reminder that the actions and influence of humanity today have a lasting impact on the evolution or extinction of a species for future generations.”
