Ricky Gervais Backs New Anti-Poaching Technology Developed To Protect Endangered Species
Ricky Gervais Hails New Camera Technology Which Gives 'Fighting Chance' To Endangered Species
Kathryn Snowdon— The Huffington Post UK
|
Ricky Gervais is backing new camera and satellite technology that will give wildlife a “fighting chance” against poachers.
Created by British scientist Dr Paul O'Donoghue, the real-time monitoring device has been welcomed by experts as ground-breaking and will help animals facing extinction, including rhinos, tigers and elephants.
HSI reveals that rhino poaching has increased by about 9,300 per cent since 2007 in South Africa.
The area's vast landscapes mean that often anti-poaching forces are unaware of poaching until it is too late.
But the new technology will hopefully lead to more arrests and conviction, thereby acting as a deterrent to poachers.
Open Image Modal
Ricky Gervais
Animal lover Gervais said the attacks on rhinos “utterly disgusts” him and is backing Dr O’Donoghue’s Real-Time Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device (RAPID).
The 54-year-old said: “Poachers know full well that they can kill rhinos with almost no chance of being caught or prosecuted.
“Sometimes they even cut off the animal’s horn and half its face whilst it is still alive. It’s barbaric.
“The killing won’t stop unless we increase the chances of poachers getting caught, and the RAPID device does just that.
“It means we finally have the technology to catch these people red handed, and if they know that instead of walking away they’ll likely be sent to jail, they’ll think twice before killing another beautiful rhino.
“And then finally we might have a fighting chance of saving this astonishing species from extinction. I strongly urge everyone to support this project.”
Protect RAPID combines a GPS satellite collar with a heart rate monitor and video camera.
Open Image Modal
Rhino with video camera
The camera will broadcast day and night in real time, and the information will be relayed back to a control centre where anti-poaching teams can then be dispatched to poaching events almost immediately.
British researcher Dr O'Donoghue has worked with endangered black rhino populations for more than 15 years.
He said: “Currently a rhino is butchered every six hours in Africa, the issues are many, but there's far too much money at stake to believe that legislation alone can make the difference, we had to find a way to protect these animals effectively in the field; the killing has to be stopped.
“With this device, the heart rate monitor triggers the alarm the instant a poaching event occurs, pinpointing the location within a few metres so that rangers can be on the scene via helicopter or truck within minutes, leaving poachers no time to harvest the valuable parts of an animal or make good an escape.
“You can't outrun a helicopter, the Protect RAPID renders poaching a pointless exercise.”
Open Image Modal
Dr Paul O'Donoghue with a sedated rhino in South Africa
Leading rhino veterinarians and conservationists in South Africa have voiced their support for the new technology.
Dean Peinke, Specialist Mammal Ecologist for the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, said the “devices tip the balance strongly in our favour”.
HSI, which is working with the government of Vietnam on an effective education and outreach programme to reduce demand for rhino horn, is supporting the devices development.
Claire Bass, executive director of HSI UK, said: “The Protect RAPID could be a game changer in the increasingly desperate fight against poaching, and the technology has the potential to be applied to other critically endangered species including tigers and elephants.”
Steve Piper, a director of Protect, added: “We hope to have a fully functional control centre established early next year.
“The figures make it painfully clear; there is no time to waste, the tide has to be turned and the Protect RAPID can do it; the only thing heading for extinction over the next decade is poaching itself.”
Zamba, the baby white rhino makes an appearance at Colchester Zoo as keepers celebrate the arrival of the first white rhino to be born in Britain through artificial insemination. (credit:PA)
New baby Rhino(02 of19)
Open Image Modal
Greater one-horned rhino calf Ajang makes an appearance with his mother Behin, in their enclosure at Whipsnade Zoo. (credit:PA)
Southern White Rhinoceros calf at Dublin Zoo(03 of19)
Open Image Modal
Dublin Zoo's newest arrival, a baby boy Southern White Rhinoceros calf in the Africa Savanna Rhino habitat in Dublin Zoo with his mother Ashanti. (credit:PA)
Kapuki(04 of19)
Open Image Modal
This Aug. 28, 2013 photo provided by Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo shows an Eastern black rhinoceros calf walking with its mother, 8-year-old Kapuki, at the zoo in Chicago. The new baby, born Aug. 26, weighed 60 pounds at birth. Black rhinos are endangered and are a target for poachers. Lincoln Park Zoo is dedicated to rhino conservation. (AP Photo/Lincoln Park Zoo, Todd Rosenberg) (credit:AP)
Rhinoceros at Dublin Zoo(05 of19)
Open Image Modal
The latest addition to Dublin Zoo, a baby white rhinoceros as she was unveiled to the public at the zoo. (credit:PA)
Rhinoceros at Dublin Zoo(06 of19)
Open Image Modal
The latest addition to Dublin Zoo, a baby white rhinoceros as she was unveiled to the public at the zoo. (credit:PA)
Black rhinoceros calf born at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park(07 of19)
Open Image Modal
Nyoto, a six-week-old black rhinoceros calf, runs around her enclosure as she is introduced to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Lympne, Kent. Her birth at the park makes it the largest herd of captive rhino outside Africa. (credit:PA)
New Black rhinoceros baby(08 of19)
Open Image Modal
Chester Zoo's new baby black rhinoceros with its mother, Kitani, 10, inside their enclosure at the zoo. (credit:PA)
(09 of19)
Open Image Modal
The new baby rhino Ethan is shown at the Montgomery Zoo in Montgomery, Ala. on Sunday June 23, 2013. Ethan was born on June 5 and is named after the Alabama boy who was taken hostage in a bunker in January. Ethan is the first rhino calf born in a U.S. zoo to survive and thrive after being conceived by artificial insemination. (AP Photo/Montgomery Advertiser, Mickey Welsh) NO SALES (credit:AP)
FRANCE-ANIMALS-ZOO-RHINOCEROS(10 of19)
Open Image Modal
Goliath, a baby rhinoceros born on September 18, looks on in his pen on October 4, 2012, in the zoological park of Peaugres, central France. Goliath is the first rhino to be born in a French zoo this year and the third in Europe. AFP PHOTO/PHILIPPE DESMAZES (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty Images)
FRANCE-ANIMALS-ZOO-RHINOCEROS(11 of19)
Open Image Modal
Goliath (L), a baby rhinoceros born on September 18, looks on in his pen next to his mother on October 4, 2012, in the zoological park of Peaugres, central France. Goliath is the first rhino to be born in a French zoo this year and the third in Europe. AFP PHOTO/PHILIPPE DESMAZES (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty Images)
Baby White Rhino(12 of19)
Open Image Modal
Ailsa (front) the six week old baby White Rhino, at Drummond Safari park near Stirling. Mother Dot (rear) one of Blair Drummond Safari Parks White Rhinos gave birth to her second calf as part of the European Breeding Programme. Staff were alerted to the birth by an individual who had phoned in from Cyprus after following Dot's pregnancy on the Rhino Web Cam on the safari web site. (credit:PA)
Baby White Rhino(13 of19)
Open Image Modal
Ailsa (front) the six week old baby White Rhino, at Drummond Safari park near Stirling. Mother Dot (rear) one of Blair Drummond Safari Parks White Rhinos gave birth to her second calf as part of the European Breeding Programme. Staff were alerted to the birth by an individual who had phoned in from Cyprus after following Dot's pregnancy on the Rhino Web Cam on the safari web site. (credit:PA)
First baby white rhino born in UK(14 of19)
Open Image Modal
Zamba the baby white rhino makes an appearance with mother Cynthia at Colchester Zoo as keepers celebrate the arrival of the first white rhino to be born in Britain through artificial insemination. (credit:PA)
First baby white rhino born in UK(15 of19)
Open Image Modal
Zamba the baby white rhino makes an appearance with mother Cynthia at Colchester Zoo as keepers celebrate the arrival of the first white rhino to be born in Britain through artificial insemination. (credit:PA)
A baby Black Rhinoceros walks in an encl(16 of19)
Open Image Modal
A baby Black Rhinoceros walks in an enclosure at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on June 12, 2009. A baby Black Rhinoceros was born in captivity on April 20 in a Tokyo zoo. The Black Rhinoceros is a critically endangered species, according to the International Rhino Foundation there are less than 5000 surviving in the world. AFP PHOTO/KAZUHIRO NOGI (Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
White Rhino born(17 of19)
Open Image Modal
A baby white Rhino born at South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Dalton in Furness, Cumbria. (credit:PA)
New born, Animal Park(18 of19)
Open Image Modal
STANDALONE Photo A black baby rhino, still to be named, makes one of her first appearances outdoors accompanied by mum Etna at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near Hythe in Kent. (credit:PA)
New born, Animal Park(19 of19)
Open Image Modal
STANDALONE Photo A black baby rhino, still to be named, plays outdoors at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near Hythe in Kent. (credit:PA)