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10 January 2019 | Story Leonie Bolleurs
Animal Conservation
A giraffe after a successful immobilisation capture being prepared for safe relocation.

From 2007 to 2014, the country experienced an exponential rise in rhino poaching – a growth of over 9,000%. Most illegal activities occur in the Kruger National Park.

 

Contributing to fight this battle is a group of five former students and colleagues from the UFS Department of Chemistry, now in the employment of Wildlife Pharmaceuticals. Situated in the Nelspruit area, Dr Inus Janse van Rensburg, Head of Research and Development; Lizette Janse van Rensburg, Head of Operations; Leo Kirsten, API expert; Dr Rikus Peens, API chemist; and Dr Chris Joubert, Laboratory Specialist, are working at this pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. The company specialises in the development, manufacturing, and end use of wildlife medicines.

 

With the medicines they develop, they are able to immobilise animals. Prof André Roodt, Discipline Head of the UFS Division of Inorganic Chemistry, who attended Indaba 9 with members of his research team in Skukuza, Kruger National Park, said wildlife species are being chemically immobilised for different reasons.

 

Prosecution of poachers

 

One example is of a rhino which was immobilised after a successful dehorning procedure by veterinarians and personnel of Wildlife Pharmaceuticals. As part of a programme to discourage poaching, selective DNA data collection is also conducted by some veterinarian groups for future use in the possible prosecution of individuals who are dealing with rhino horn. As soon as a rhino that was killed during poaching has been discovered, samples of the animal are obtained for a full analysis.

 

These samples are then stored on a database. Wherever rhino horn is confiscated (even internationally), the DNA is analysed, and the database may be consulted to see where the specific rhino was killed. The person in possession of the rhino horn may then be charged with the ‘killing’ of the original rhino.

 

Prof Roodt explained that the foundation of all medicines is based on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) present in the finished pharmaceutical product, be it tablets, capsules, a syrup or a sterile injectable liquid. In accordance with local and international regulations and guidelines, chemists at API facilities are manufacturing these APIs globally.

 

Wildlife conservation

 

The APIs are respectively incorporated into registered finished pharmaceutical products, which are then used by registered veterinarians for chemical immobilisation and reversal of immobilisation in wildlife species.

 

According to Prof Roodt, the importance of developing appropriate chemical agents and the role of chemical manufacturing are crucial for animal conservation, with a scope far beyond the field of animal immobilisation, thus extending it to animal health, treatments, and vaccinations.

 

Besides saving our rhinos, wildlife species require immobilisation for different reasons. This can include, for example, wound treatment, relocation, and surgical procedures. “It is critical that the animals be immobilised to ensure limitation of stress to the animal, mitigate self-harm, allow safe handling of the animal, and for operator safety. These activities will be impossible to execute without chemical immobilisation of the animal,” said Prof Roodt.

 

Dr Janse van Rensburg, who received his PhD in the UFS Department of Chemistry in 2008, said the department, through exposing its students to, among others, complex equipment in labs as well as work in international labs to critically assess and benchmark their work against others, contributed to the success of his career at Wildlife Pharmaceuticals.

News Archive

UFS Council elects new Chairperson
2017-01-27

Description: Mr Willem Louw and Nthabeleng Rammile Tags: Mr Willem Louw and Nthabeleng Rammile

Mr Willem Louw, new Chairperson of the Council
of the University of the Free State, and Dr Nthabeleng
Rammile, new Vice-Chairperson.
Photo: Stephen Collett

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) elected Mr Willem Louw as the new Chairperson during a special meeting on Friday 20 January 2017. He was Vice-Chairperson of the Council since 13 March 2015. Dr Nthabeleng Rammile was elected Vice-Chairperson at the same meeting, making her the first woman in the history of the university elected to this position.

The election of Mr Louw comes after the announcement by Justice Ian van der Merwe at a Council meeting on 2 December 2016 that he will be stepping down as Chairperson on 31 December 2016.

Mr Louw has served on the Council since 11 September 2009 and was elected as member of the Executive Committee of the Council on 18 November 2011. He furthermore serves on the Council’s subcommittees for Audit and Risk Management, and Honorary Degrees.

In accepting his election as Chairperson, Mr Louw said that he appreciates the trust Council has bestowed on him. “It is a privilege and honour to lead Council and I look forward to the challenge. With the support of Dr Rammile and the rest of the Council, I endeavour to ensure that the university management is assisted in the governance of the university and that the Council plays its governance role fully at all times,” he said.

“The UFS is privileged to have Mr Louw and Dr Rammile leading its Council at such a crucial time in the South African higher-education sector. Their combined experience will be of great benefit to the university community,” said Prof Nicky Morgan, Acting Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS.

Mr Louw is an Associate of the Transnet Centre for Business Management of Projects at the University of Stellenbosch Business School and a non-executive Director of Group Five Limited. He was previously Managing Director of the technology business unit and a member of Group Management at Sasol, where he worked from 1985 until 2011. He is a member of the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions and a Fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering. Mr Louw received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from Stellenbosch University and his MDP (Management Development Programme in Project Management) from UNISA. He is currently enrolled for a PhD in Business Management and Administration at the University of Stellenbosch Business School.

Dr Rammile has served on the Council as representative of the religious communities since 1 January 2016. She is also member of the Council subcommittees for Audit and Risk Management, and Naming. She obtained a PhD in Brand Management at the UFS, where she also lectured in the Department of Business Management from 2003 to 2014. She is a pastor at Global Reconciliation, where she is responsible for women’s ministry, community outreach projects, and multimedia.

Mr Louw will serve as Chairperson of Council until 31 December 2018, and Dr Rammile will serve as Vice-Chairperson until 12 March 2018.

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

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