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Lion DNA database urged as threat grows

http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/science/2014/10/28/lion-dna-database-urged-as-threat-grows

by Tamar Kahn, 28 October 2014, 06:17

Tamar Kahn

THE head of SA’s rhino DNA database has called on the government to set up a similar initiative to protect lions, which she says face a growing threat from the rising legal trade in their body parts.

The trade in lion bones is being driven by Asian dealers looking for an alternative to tigers for ingredients for traditional medicines.

Scientists at the University of Pretoria’s Veterinary Genetics Laboratory established a DNA database for rhinos five years ago. The latest figures show that, from the beginning of the year to October 14, 868 rhinos had been poached in SA. A total of 1,004 were killed last year, according to figures published by the Department of Environmental Affairs.

The Rhino DNA Index System (RhODIS) offers investigators on the trail of poachers the same tools as those used by detectives hunting human murderers, as it can identify the individual animal that seized rhino products come from.

Now scientists say a similar initiative should be launched for other animals at risk, in particular lions.

“We expect them (lions) to be the next big problem, ” RhODIS director Cindy Harper said last week.

Dr Harper said the highly profitable legal trade in lion bones was fuelling a demand that could soon exceed supply. If that happened, poachers were likely to turn to the natural population, she said.

Elephants too could benefit from a DNA database, she said.

Her call was supported by the head of the carnivore programme at the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Kelly Marnewick. “It is something we have been advocating for some time, particularly for cheetahs,” she said. Wild carnivores were cheaper than those bred in captivity, she said on Monday.

In traditional Chinese medicine, tiger wine is reputed to cure ailments ranging from ulcers to malaria, and to boost virility. With tigers in increasingly short supply, traders were turning to lions, she said.

If a DNA database were set up before the black market became well established, it could deter illegal trade, she said.

Rhino owners are required by law to collect samples for RhODIS whenever an animal dies, or is hunted or relocated. The database now holds DNA samples for 13,000 rhinos in SA, Namibia and Malawi.

Work is under way to share information with a similar database to be set up in Kenya, said Dr Harper.

October 28 2014, 06:17

THE head of SA’s rhino DNA database has called on the government to set up a similar initiative to protect lions, which she says face a growing threat from the rising legal trade in their body parts.

The trade in lion bones is being driven by Asian dealers looking for an alternative to tigers for ingredients for traditional medicines.

Scientists at the University of Pretoria’s Veterinary Genetics Laboratory established a DNA database for rhinos five years ago. The latest figures show that, from the beginning of the year to October 14, 868 rhinos had been poached in SA. A total of 1,004 were killed last year, according to figures published by the Department of Environmental Affairs.

The Rhino DNA Index System (RhODIS) offers investigators on the trail of poachers the same tools as those used by detectives hunting human murderers, as it can identify the individual animal that seized rhino products come from.

Now scientists say a similar initiative should be launched for other animals at risk, in particular lions.

“We expect them (lions) to be the next big problem, ” RhODIS director Cindy Harper said last week.

Dr Harper said the highly profitable legal trade in lion bones was fuelling a demand that could soon exceed supply. If that happened, poachers were likely to turn to the natural population, she said.

Elephants too could benefit from a DNA database, she said.

Her call was supported by the head of the carnivore programme at the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Kelly Marnewick. “It is something we have been advocating for some time, particularly for cheetahs,” she said. Wild carnivores were cheaper than those bred in captivity, she said on Monday.

In traditional Chinese medicine, tiger wine is reputed to cure ailments ranging from ulcers to malaria, and to boost virility. With tigers in increasingly short supply, traders were turning to lions, she said.

If a DNA database were set up before the black market became well established, it could deter illegal trade, she said.

Rhino owners are required by law to collect samples for RhODIS whenever an animal dies, or is hunted or relocated. The database now holds DNA samples for 13,000 rhinos in SA, Namibia and Malawi.

Work is under way to share information with a similar database to be set up in Kenya, said Dr Harper.