About the Australian Rhino Project
In May 2013, Ray Dearlove was contacted by a number of conservationists in South Africa regarding the plight of rhinoceros in Africa, and in South Africa, in particular. At that time, the annual poaching statistics were: 333 rhinos killed by poachers in 2010; 448 in 2011 and 668 in 2012. Clearly, the problem was getting worse and these concerned individuals feared for the worst and suggested to Ray that a breeding herd of rhinos – both black and white - be established in Australia. The suggested location was the north of the continent where the belief was that the climate and ecology would be ideally suited for such a project.
Ray and his wife, Margaret, decided to take the idea a step further and contacted good friends, Allan and Lyn Davies who own a property in the upper Hunter Valley. They enthusiastically agreed to become involved and after a very brief ‘planning session’ over coffee, it was decided to take another step by contacting the Veterinary Faculty at the University of Sydney, with whom Allan had strong relationships. The following week Allan and Ray met with Professor David Emery, Professor of Parasitology and Jackie Dalton, Development Officer of the Veterinary Foundation. David and Jackie cautioned them about the scale of the idea (this was not the last time that they were warned about that!), but they agreed to support the concept emphasising that the project had very limited chance of success without the involvement and support of Taronga Zoo. Taronga has a world-class reputation and is housed in two campuses, one in Sydney, with, arguably, the best views in the world overlooking Sydney Harbour, the Bridge and the Opera House. The other is the Western Plains Zoo, which is located at Dubbo, approximately five hours from Sydney.
What Ray and Allan did not know was Taronga’s deep experience with managing insurance populations for key conservation species - one of their flagships being the rhinoceros’ program with more animals bred at Dubbo than anywhere else outside of Africa. In addition, Taronga was a Founding Member of the powerful International Rhinoceros Foundation (IRF) of which, CEO, Cameron Kerr was a director. Cameron was on record as saying that he wanted part of his legacy to include contributing to the conservation of rhino in Australia. The Taronga executive team enthusiastically grasped the concept and from these discussions, The Australian Rhino Project was born. The objective was to establish a breeding herd of rhinos in Australia to act as an insurance population in case of the extinction of the species in the wild. Ray’s goal was always that the rhinos or their progeny would be reintroduced into Africa once the poaching situation stabilised, however long that might take.
