Rhino poaching is very much in the news and we are all shocked and horrified by the brutal attack on these amazing creatures. Greed and the subsequent cruelty against these defenseless giants of the bush, brings out the desire to DO SOMETHING!!
South Africa has such a proud heritage of being in touch with nature and the National Parks are such an attraction to visitors from all over the world as well as for us to enjoy. The attacks and poaching in the Kruger National Park has galvanised South Africans in to getting together and getting involved.
So many people have expressed the desire to do just that “get involved” but don’t know how or what to do. The enthusiastic team at Unitrans Volkswagen are a group that are going all out to make a difference and to give the community the ability to make a difference too.
As a subsidiary of the Unitrans Volkswagen, are extremely proud and committed to be a pivotal part of the drive to Unite against Poaching. This initiative has entered into an arrangement with SANParks whereby funds are pledged by participating dealers to be used specifically in the fight against rhino poaching. The dealers pledges funds for each vehicle they sell (both new and Pre-owned) to the trust fund without disadvantaging the customer’s deal. This is a company donation and the customer will still get the best deal in town! The funds generated are administered by the SANParks Honorary Rangers who are all volunteers, so all funds pledged are used for their intention and no administrative costs are incurred.
How can YOU make a difference? Each time a member of the public buys a vehicle from a participating dealer they are directly helping because their purchase is a direct pledge to the trust fund. The more vehicles sold, the higher the pledge to the fund and the more money there is to spend in counter poaching. Make sure all your family, friends and colleagues know that they too can make a difference and get a fantastic deal at the same time.
What happens to the funds? So far the trust fund has handed over R 8 Million to be used to fight poaching. The money is used effectively and efficiently and is not used for administration. The SANParks Honorary Rangers have already supplied basic bush survival equipment to 400 rangers in the Kruger National Park! This includes tents, sleeping bags, first aid kits, cooking equipment, rucksacks, compasses etc so that the rangers are able to survive in the bush for long periods without having to go back to base camp. This makes them much more effective in tracking the poachers.
Advanced surveillance training has also been paid for and money has also been donated towards funding the research into the DNA profiling of rhino. This helps in identifying specific rhinos when poachers are caught and the data has already been used in court to prosecute poachers.
We are also the proud sponsors of the Unitrans Volskwagen Tracker hound unit. These amazing hounds called Chico, Jetta and Kombi have already helped neutralize 17 poachers in 2015 alone.
What this means is that YOU, the public can rest assured that by purchasing your vehicle from a Unitrans Volkswagen dealer you are directly contributing to the fight against poaching in the Kruger Park. We need your help to achieve this.
Show your support for Unite against Poaching, pop into a participating dealership and ask for your bumper sticker for your vehicles and MAKE A DIFFERENCE to the war against rhino poaching.
To identify which are the participating dealerships and for further information you can also log onto the website www.uniteagainstpoaching.co.za.
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