The World’s Biggest (and Richest) Rhino Savior Was Just Arrested for Trafficking Their Horns

In a staggering development for global wildlife conservation, the world’s biggest rhino farmer, who has long cast himself as a savior for the species, was arrested in South Africa Tuesday on suspicion of trafficking rhino horn. Prosecutors have accused John Hume, along with five others, of operating a smuggling ring involving 964 rhino horns valued at more than $14 million, according to the Associated Press.

This week’s arrests followed a seven-year investigation by the Hawks, a special task force in the South African Police Service that focuses on organized crime. Investigators allege that the six suspects were involved in a fraudulent scheme, where they would secure permits to sell rhino horns domestically (which is legal in South Africa), while actually funneling the horns to illegal buyers in Southeast Asia. 

“The Hawks’ work shows that our enforcement agencies will not hesitate to pursue those who plunder our wildlife for profit,” South Africa’s Minister of Forest, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr. Dion George, said in a press release on Aug. 19. “This arrest proves that syndicates cannot escape justice, no matter how complex their schemes.” 

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Although George hailed the series of arrests as a “decisive victory,” it is also a stark reminder of the widespread corruption that is driving South Africa’s poaching crisis. One that is all the more disturbing because of who Hume is, and the already controversial role he has played in conserving the iconic species.

After making a fortune in the real estate and hotel business, Hume started his own rhino farm, Buffalo Dream Ranch, in the early 2000s, when South Africa’s rhino poaching crisis was beginning to peak. He started the captive-breeding operation with approximately 200 southern white rhinos. After moving and expanding his farm, and investing heavily in security, Hume grew that herd to around 2,000 strong in roughly 20 years’ time. 

While he’s been heavily criticized by some for treating the species like livestock instead of wildlife, Hume has always cast himself as a conservationist and philanthropist, who has invested his own hard-earned money to keep southern white rhinos from going extinct. (South Africa holds around 80 percent of the world’s remaining white rhinos, and private landowners have historically played a major role in keeping those populations viable and protected.)

“Why should we save any species from extinction? It’s almost like, why should we breathe?” Hume said in a video interview with the BBC in 2018, explaining that he’d already spent more than $50 million on the project with virtually no return. “It makes me understand that I cannot give up.”

As part of his push to breed the animals, however, Hume was always interested in profiting from rhinos by selling their horns, which re-grow naturally after being cut off. He led the effort to overturn South Africa’s ban on domestic rhino-horn trade in 2017, and it remains legal today for anyone with the proper permit to sell rhino horn within the country. 

This revival of the domestic horn trade also reignited one of the thorniest debates around rhino conservation in South Africa. On one side are folks like Hume, who’ve argued that conservation through commerce is the best solution, and that flooding the international market with farm-raised rhino horn would drive down the overall demand for horns on the black market. Opponents to this idea have claimed it would open the door to corrupt actors and potentially make the problem worse. 

Amid all this debate, Hume carried on breeding rhinos, while harvesting and stockpiling their horns. But in order to protect his investment from poachers, Hume was spending a small fortune on security every month. In 2023, he announced that he could no longer afford to raise rhinos and he put his farm up for sale. 

With no buyers coming forward, African Parks eventually purchased the nearly 20,000-acre Platinum Rhino farm, along with the roughly 2,000 white rhinos living there. The NGO has since used these animals as part of a massive rewilding project.

In May 2024, the first of Hume’s captive white rhinos (40 in total) were donated to the Munywana Conservancy and released in Kwazulu-Natal. The following month, another 120 of Hume’s rhinos were released into Kruger National Park and a few surrounding high-fence game reserves. This was the first release of its kind in Kruger Park in 50 years, and it was widely celebrated as a historic step forward for rhino conservation.

The deeper problems facing South Africa’s wildlife remain, however, even as the country’s anti-poaching efforts have kept ratcheting up. Between Jan. 1 and March 31 of this year, 103 white rhinos were poached for their horns, most of them in national parks, according to the federal government. That’s more than one rhino killed per day.

Hume was released after his arrest Tuesday on a $5,000 bond. He has since denied any wrongdoing, saying he “has nothing to hide” in a statement shared with the BBC Wednesday.

“I categorically reject the allegations against me and maintain that I have never acted unlawfully,” Hume said. “I am confident that, once the facts are tested in court, I will be vindicated and my innocence confirmed.”

Hume and the other five individuals — a group that includes his lawyer and game reserve manager — now face 55 charges, including racketeering and fraud. More charges could follow, according to the AP, and they are scheduled to appear in court in early December.