South African sisters of German descent, Victoria and Vanessa Wiesenmaier, have embarked on a 6,000 km cycling journey through Southeast Asia in a bid to raise awareness about rhino poaching.

The ever-increasing rhino poaching crisis in Southern Africa left them feeling frustrated and powerless they say and believe strongly that the war against rhino poaching has to be won in Asia and not in Africa.

Accordingly, they have targeted Vietnam, China and Thailand, the main consumer markets for rhino horn on a project with Project Rhino KZN, partners of the Kingsley Holgate Foundation, to educate youth in hopes of curbing the demand for rhino horn.

They are planning to visit schools in Hanoi on June 17-24 and roll out a Rhino Art project entitled ‘Buy No Rhino’.

In addition they will be collecting signatures for the World Youth Wildlife Declaration, which will be presented to the CITES 2016 summit in Cape Town.

According to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, the number of rhinos poached in South Africa is spiking, with 1,215 poached in 2014 – up from 1,004 in 2013 and 668 in 2012.

VOV