Indiegogo is committed to accessibility. If you have difficulty using our site, please contact support@indiegogo.com for assistance or view our accessibility notice by clicking here

This campaign is closed

Saving Big Boy

Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed

Saving Big Boy

Saving Big Boy

Saving Big Boy

Saving Big Boy

Saving Big Boy

Louise Joubert
Louise Joubert
Louise Joubert
Louise Joubert
14 Campaigns |
Gravelotte, South Africa
$14,857 USD 251 backers
99% of $15,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Choose your Perk

Big Boy Certificate

$10 USD
Est. Shipping
November 2016
7 out of 100 of claimed

Big Boy T-shirt

$50 USD
Est. Shipping
November 2016
7 out of 100 of claimed

Big Boy Sweatshirt

$150 USD
Est. Shipping
November 2016
0 out of 100 of claimed

Big Boy Hoodie

$150 USD
Est. Shipping
November 2016
3 out of 100 of claimed

Save Big Boy

$15,000 USD
Est. Shipping
January 2017
0 out of 1 of claimed
Highlights
Mountain Filled 14 Projects Mountain Filled 14 Projects

Just over a month ago we picked up on the internet that a rhino bull was available for a trophy hunt in South Africa. A grainy picture showed a white rhino bull that we estimate to be approximately 10 years old. 

 

A beautiful animal in his prime was going to die unless we could convince potential donors to help save him. 

 

This rhino bull is most definitely not past his prime; in fact, he is in his prime and if someone would be willing to put up the funding to buy him, he could and would be contributing his genes to the ultimate survival of his kind that are being decimated by poachers in South Africa. There simply is simply no reason for him to die other than that he was no longer wanted or worth protecting after all the other rhinos on this privately-owned farm had allegedly been butchered by poachers.   For surviving his only reward will be death.  

 

Many times, before had we see adverts for rhinos to be killed in trophy hunts in our country.  Normally for our own sanity we would simply let it go as we certainly do not have the funding to purchase these unfortunate animals and spare them a dreadful fate.

 

This time however it was different; this rhino bull haunted me during all hours of the night and for the next couple of days I hardly slept. As I tossed and turned in bed at night I could not understand how people could be so heartless (and shameless) to want him to die a painful death because he was not worth protecting. 

 

As naïve as I remain to this day, I know that if I was fortunate enough to own this beautiful animal, I would simply have donated him to someone that could protect him in a place where he could live in the wild where he belonged.

 

I thought of his terrible loss when poachers killed the other rhinos with which he surely would have formed a very strong bond.  Rhinos are so special; they are such loving creatures and enjoy living in social groups.  After the poaching incident in which the other rhinos were killed, he would have spent hours mourning the loss of the other rhinos. We do not always understand the emotional trauma animals suffer at the hands of cruel people and many simply do not care, but I cared.  I cared so much that this time I could simply not just let him become another statistic and I prayed that somewhere, somehow there would be other people that shared my point of view.

 

I have seen and experienced the raw emotions displayed by other rhinos after these brutal poaching incidents.  I have personally seen them repeatedly visit the carcasses of their companions or friends and for many days they would return to the scene of the crime just standing and waiting; some calling softly possibly hoping that the other rhinos would return.  The emotional loss for them is very real and indisputable.

 

My initial calls for help to various NGO's claiming to care about rhinos and raising money to help "save" the species mostly resulted in the same reply "You save this one and they will just hunt another".  Is this sufficient reason for this rhino bull to have to die? 

 

Even if he died in a hunt like the one in our video, more and more rhinos will continue to die in trophy hunts anyway for as long as the South African Government and many fellow South Africans see nothing wrong with it. 

 

Why should rhinos not be hunted they would say? After all in order to make these sentient creatures worth saving it was necessary for them to "pay their way" and paying their way in most instances means they will have to die.  What a terribly sad state of affairs. 

 

With the help of some fantastic people whoever we have manage to secure Big Boy against all odds by means of a legally binding contract which means if we keep to the terms and conditions he cannot be hunted and we can relocate him to safety as soon as the relevant permits have been issued.

 

We however need YOUR urgent help to ensure that Big Boy can be purchased and relocated to an Intensive Protection Zone where he can live in the wild and contribute to the ultimate survival of his species.

 

This rescue-project is time critical and we need your help right now as we have to raise the required funding in the next four weeks. 

 

Please donate towards Saving Big Boy and together we will be the difference between life and death for this beautiful rhino bull.

 

Should you need any more information please email me on louise@sanwild.org or phone me on +27 83 310 3882.

 

 

Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
Need more information
Let us know if you think this campaign contains prohibited content.
Tags for this project
Up Caret