Cathay Pacific has adopted six-month-old orphan baby rhino, Lula, as part of its ongoing partnership with the Investec Rhino Lifeline (IRL) project, an initiative to protect South Africa’s endangered rhino population from extinction, and educating local and global communities on the importance of rhino conservation.
Lula is one of many injured and orphaned baby rhinos in South Africa in need of care and rehabilitation, based at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC). The IRL project, in partnership with Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary, ensures the orphan baby rhinos receive daily care before being safely released back into the wild. As part of its commitment to the conservation initiative, Cathay Pacific will provide funding to IRL to cover the costs of relocation and transportation, veterinary care, feeding, security, and rehabilitation for Lula.
“The decline in South Africa’s rhino population, as a result of poaching, is currently one of the biggest conservation challenges the country faces,” says Ashish Kapur, Cathay Pacific Country Manager for South Africa. “Thanks to initiatives like the Investec Rhino Lifeline, these numbers have dropped slightly in recent years, but there is still a lot of work to be done to eradicate the problem of poaching completely. We are proud to be working with trusted partners and supporters to make a difference.”
More than 7,000 African rhinos have been lost to poaching in the last decade, with as many as 1,175 rhinos killed in 2015. Despite a 10.3% decrease in rhino poaching in 2016, according to poaching statistics released by the Department of Environmental Affairs in February 2017, the rhino population of South Africa remains at risk of extinction unless more is done to stop poachers in their tracks.
Cathay Pacific also worked with the IRL project to fly Chinese influencer and celebrity with an online talk show that boasts a following of almost 63 million online viewers, Mr Ma Weidu, to South Africa earlier this year. Mr Ma joined WildAid in 2016, and uses his platform and influence to discourage collectors from purchasing all ivory products.
With Mr Ma’s help, Cathay Pacific in association with the IRL project and all partners and sponsors hopes to reach more people with the message, ‘When the buying stops, the killing can too’, debunking the myths surrounding the possession of rhino horn in China, where it is often seen as a symbol of wealth and prized for its medicinal value.
“As a long-haul carrier based in China and one of the main transportation hubs between China and South Africa, Cathay Pacific feels strongly about the need to protect all indigenous wildlife. It is important that we take a stand against the practice of rhino poaching to ensure the protection of these precious animals,” says Kapur.
“Cathay Pacific has also banned the transportation of hunting trophies, shark fin, ivory and ivory products on its flights, adding another barrier for poachers.”
The Hong Kong-based international airline is a signatory of the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce Buckingham Palace Declaration and a member of the Wildlife Taskforce under IATA’s Environment Committee. For more information, visit www.cathaypacific.com/za.
About Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways is a Hong Kong-based airline offering scheduled passenger and cargo services to more than 180 destinations in Asia, North America, Australia, Europe and Africa, using a fleet of 140 wide-body aircraft. The airline offers exceptional service and world-beating products on the ground and in the air – including its multiple-award-winning long-haul Business Class. Cathay Pacific has made substantial investments to develop Hong Kong as one of the world’s leading global transportation hubs. Cathay Pacific was named the safest airline in the world in 2015 and 2016 by the Jet Airline Crash Data Evaluation Centre.
