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The Beginning
In 1970, a rhino poaching epidemic began that was to hit black rhino populations severely. The crisis continued to deplete populations right through to the late 1980s and early 1990s, so much so that by 1993, there were only 2,475 black rhinos left in the world.At the start of the 1990s, rhino enthusiasts Dave Stirling and Johnny Roberts took themselves on a ‘Rhino Scramble’ across Africa, -
Things Really Start Picking Up
Between 1992 and 1994, the group continued to raise funds in any way they could. With costumes in tow, they collected money, ran marathons, and organised auctions. Their most popular way of raising money was a good old fashioned rave: primarily based at the SW1 Club in Victoria. Save the Rhino events became the place to be for a good night out. -
It Becomes Offical
On 28 February 1994 the group officially registered as a UK charity, as Save the Rhino International Not long after securing charity status, Save the Rhino International took on the challenge of a lifetime, walking from sea level to the roof of Africa. -
Dave and Johnny Take Over
n 2001, having been the driving forces behind Save the Rhino for 10 years, Dave and Johnny decided it was time to advertise for a new Director. Cathy Dean was appointed and has been at Save the Rhino ever since. The next 14 years of the charity’s history have seen some significant steps forward. -
The Next Big Step
The next big step came in 2005, when Save the Rhino partnered with the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria to hold the EAZA Save the Rhinos Campaign. Not only did the team smash the target of 350,000 euros to raise 660,000 euros, but the increased funds available for grants meant that, for the first time, Save the Rhino could actively solicit grant applications -
Save the Rhino Earns its Worth
Save the Rhino has worked hard to build close partnerships with other rhino NGOs and grant-giving organisations, so that it can collaborate on joint projects and be more than the sum of our parts. Particularly close are Michelle Gadd at US Fish & Wildlife Service, -
Save the Rhino Grows
Then in 2006, Save the Rhino was invited, for the first time, to attend, as an observer, the IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group’s biennial meeting. There Cathy met many of the programme managers Save the Rhino works with closely today. -
Fast Forward
The partnership with TRAFFIC is the most recent of Save the Rhino’s significant advances. In 2013, Deputy Director Susie Offord successful submitted a joint TRAFFIC / Save the Rhino application to the UK government’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, winning a grant of $289,000 to tackle the demand for rhino horn in Vietnam. -
The Scary Truth
Looking forward, things are probably going to get worse before they get better. The illegal wildlife trade is a serious global crime and tackling it will require cooperation and intelligence sharing between a wide range of agencies, such as border police, transport companies, and money-laundering and anti-corruption experts. -
The Overview
Since 2001, Save the Rhino has grown from a little charity raising about £300,000 a year to make grants for on black rhinos to an effective and professionally run organisation raising c. £1,300,000 in 2014-15 to make a wide range of grants across all five species of rhino in six African and two Asian countries on a regular basis.
