Madam Chair, people often ask why South Africa did not have a rhino poaching problem five years ago. If you thought about rhinos five years ago, you felt they were a good news conservation story here, but not in the rest of the world, not in Africa. Let me remind you that the black rhino recovered from a 96% decline at the end of 1992 and the white rhino recovered from only 434 animals left in KwaZulu-Natal to almost 20 000 now. We have 93% of the white rhinos in Africa.
In October 2011, the last Java rhino was eliminated in Vietnam. Rhinos in zoos in the United Kingdom were under threat and ancient rhino horns were stolen from a German museum. Africa Geographic devoted its whole 2012 edition to this topic. We need to congratulate them. In 1972, almost 1 000 northern white rhinos were killed in Garamba National Park and in 2007 they became extinct. In 1960, the South African white rhino population was estimated at 650 - we know that success story. However, the poaching wave moved to the south, rising in 2008 to 83 - up from only 13 in 2007. Today, we know where we stand - it has already been said here in this House.
What went wrong in 2008? Strong rumours from Vietnam that rhino horn was a cure for cancer contributed. However, according to Tom Milliken of Traffic, a lot of rhino horn from the private sector was going into trade and was not captured in the data nor officially registered with government. He says, "It is believed that large volumes of horn were illegally disposed of and moved to Asia ... in the early to mid-2000s." That stream of supply - adding horn from the legal trade - created a bigger market and a demand. But suddenly the private sector stockpiles dried up. All this happened at a time when the expanding Asian market had so much private wealth at its disposal, with less restriction. This, according to Milliken, created "a perfect storm of deadly consumption". Scientists think we shall reach a decline in 2016, should the current trend continue.
What are the solutions? Firstly, we know that we can beef up security, and I unfortunately don't have time to go into that.
Secondly, the fostering of closer international co-operation between South Africa and consumer countries is important. The Minister made reference to that this afternoon. Heads of state and diplomats should get involved. I want a more active President Zuma on this. China's ban on rhino horn in 1993 was the direct result of the involvement of President Bill Clinton and the head of state in China. Where do we stand on our treaties and bilateral agreements? In 2011, Vietnam and South Africa drafted a Memorandum of Understanding to promote co-operation on conservation and the law. The progress is so slow. When will we sign it?
A third option is to legalise the trade. This is a cry from those who believe that stockpiles, coupled with strong regulated trade, can fulfil market expectations. History has proven this to be very difficult. The killing will only stop when the market ceases to exist. Those in favour of legalising, like Michael Eustace, now want legal trade to come from natural mortalities and stockpiles, no longer from farming and hunting. Minister, we wish you all the best in your endeavours to get consensus on this topic. [Laughter.] Fourthly, let us sort out the hunting legislation and a permit system. There is too much of a difference between the styles in the various provinces when it comes to the issuing of permits. We have been hunting rhinos on permits since 1968.
In 1994, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species allowed the export of sport rhino trophies. What happened? Vietnamese hunters priced out traditional hunters. In 2010, the elevated hunting offtakes were all taken by Vietnamese nationals - many were fake hunters. We lost control on this issue. According to Tim Jackson, who wrote in Africa Geographic, "Present legislation governing hunting permits in South Africa is a can of worms", loopholes are being abused.
We need to rectify the permit system. I believe SANParks has put a moratorium on rhino hunts. What is happening in adjacent reserves that share an open boundary with the Kruger National Park? Minister, is it not time to gazette a moratorium until such time as we have cleared up the permit system, the legislation and the debate on the legal trade of rhino horn? We should tidy this up before the next Cites meeting in 2013. Albi Modise, the department's spokesperson, is so right when he says: "The issuing authority must ensure that the off-take is not detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild." That is the case for all other species in the wild when it comes to hunting.
Finally, what is happening to our elephants in Africa? In 2006, 38 000 were poached. According to Dr Michelle Henley from Save the Elephants, the current estimated annual offtake of 8% of the population due to poaching exceeds the reproductive rate of 6%. Elephant numbers are going down in Africa. There are no elephants left in Sierra Leone, and West Africa is under siege. Central African countries have lost 90% of their elephants in the last 30 years. Again, Southern Africa represents the opposite because of the ivory ban.
In conclusion, ivory prices are up by 100% since 2009. In 2007 we had a once-off stockpile sale, with no long-term positive effect. The end market just got bigger. South Africa will become vulnerable with regard to our elephants in future. Let's learn from our experience with rhino poaching and protect our elephants timeously. [Applause.]