Due to work commitments and other social chaos, Estelle and I have not been able to attend all the trips, functions and outings during this year. This has led to our photo albums on WEBSHOTS becoming outdated.
I would like to appeal to all our members out there to share these memories with the rest of the club. This is of particular importance to those who could not make these trips as well as exposing the Club to the general public out there.
It is of vital importance to save these photos at full resolution and to group them in specific files relating to that trip, outing or function. By placing the date in the file name will also assist me in getting it right on the website.
Should you wish to share personal trips with our Club members then please remember give me some detail such as date of the trip, destination, etc.
Kindly save these onto a disc for me and I’ll collect them at the Christmas function when we all get together with our extended families. Should you incur any expenses, then please email me the costs of this.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Thursday 23rd February 2012
At our recent Christmas party, where we all had an absolute jol, I asked for a show of hands from the members as to where you would like the AGM to take place. Then after a show of hands, the majority showed that the same venue over a weekend camp out is what you wanted. After careful thought and consideration, it was me who took the idea to committee that we change this to a weekday at our Noggin venue. This has been is a decision based purely on what the committee feels is best for the club and its members.
The AGM is the time to hear where the club has been and where it’s going to, who’s leaving and who’s coming on board. I am appealing to you the members to set the 23rd aside, and make an effort to get to the meeting.
We desperately need your input and comments. The committee is always looking for, and the club always needs interested parties to join us on the committee and get involved with us. We have meetings once a month, usually rotating the venue between a few of the member’s houses.
Meetings start at 18h30 and seldom finish up later than 21h00.
2011-12-23 19:00
Johannesburg - A Western Cape game reserve owner has injected his rhinos' horns with poison in a bid to prevent poaching.
"We hope that it will inform poachers, it [poaching at the reserve] is going to be a waste of time," said Inverdoorn reserve owner, Damian Vergnaud, on Friday.
He said he had approached scientists and his vet to assist him in finding a new way of protecting his rhinos.
"Dehorning, it's very painful for the animals. It's traumatising and it makes them look different.
"I really wanted to create a different defence system."
Vergnaud said that an operation whereby three substances were injected into the horns of two female rhinos and a calf took place at the reserve, outside Cape Town, on Thursday.
The first substance injected was a dye - the same product used to foil cash-in-transit robbers by marking the bank notes if the box they were kept in, was forced open.
Vergnaud said the dye would appear in the inside of the horn, making it useless for decorative purposes.
The handle of a dagger called a jambiya - and which is popular in Yemen - is often made of rhino horn.
The second substance that was injected was used to make the horn visible on an X-ray scanner - to ensure poachers could not get away with smuggling them through border control machinery.
No side-effects
The third substance, called barium and which is designed by Denel, had an off-putting taste and would make anyone who tried to ingest it, mildly ill.
"It tastes very bad if you put it into your mouth. You can't swallow it, it is just too disgusting. Even if someone is crazy enough to swallow it, it will just cause some diarrhoea and nausea.
"It's harmless no one can die from it."
The rhinos would experience no side effects from the substances in their horns.
Vergnaud said he was happy to share his solution with other people trying to protect rhinos. He said he had already been approached to help prevent poaching in Botswana.
He said that since rhino horns grew over time, the procedure would have to be repeated every three to four years.
Spate of poaching
South Africa has been assaulted by a spate of rhino poaching this year.
Just last week, four poachers were arrested in Hoedspruit in Limpopo after they were found with two horns, two rifles and an axe. A carcass was discovered in the area at the time of their arrest.
In Germiston last week, a Chinese national, Hsu Hsien Lung, was sentenced to six years imprisonment for the possession of two rhino horns without a permit.
Hawks spokesperson Colonol McIntosh Polela said at the time: "If the criminals who are decimating these animals are not stopped, the country could lose this part of its heritage forever".
Seventy-eight suspected poachers were arrested in the Kruger National Park, alone, this year.
The number of rhinos killed in the country has gone over the 400-mark, compared to 333 killed in 2010, according to SA National Parks statistics.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, three of the five rhino species globally are critically endangered.
This year, the fund declared that rhinos in Vietnam have gone extinct.
Rhino horn is highly sought after in Asia for medicinal purposes.
According to the Save the Rhino website, at the turn of the 19th century, there were approximately one million rhinos.
Today, fewer than 24 500 survive in the wild, with the vast majority of these found in South Africa.
- SAPA
Worrying upward trend in Rhino deaths
By the 19th December 2011, 443 rhinos had already been killed in South Africa compared to the 333 poached in 2010. As you can see in the above chart, the number has been increasing since 2008 and based on this current trend, we could have a disastrous 2012. We are clearly losing the battle against poaching and the South African Government has a lot to answer for these figures.
Rhino Conservation Groups:
International Rhino Foundation
How long will these magnificent beasts walk our planet?
Regards
Jacques
082-462-2908
Please have a look at the Motor Sport page for the challenge info and request for assistance.
The info for the outing, the Chairman's cab, the club challenge as well as the rules and regulations are ready for all to read. Motor Mouth, Conservation and Noggins info is also ready.
The calendar has been updated with outings for the year but keep an eye out for any changes we may make.