Inside the world's largest rhino farm, which requires a private army to protect its 2,000 white rhinos, and is now for sale for at least $10 million

James Pasley
Updated ·10 min read
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A de-horned rhino slowly wakes up after his horn was trimmed at John Hume's Rhino Ranch
A dehorned rhino slowly wakes up after his horn was trimmed at John Hume's Rhino Ranch.Mujahid Safodien/AFP/Getty Images

  • John Hume has been breeding rhinos since 1993 and owns the world's largest rhino farm in South Africa.

  • He fought a global ban on trading rhino horn, which would allow him to sell it to pay for his farm.

  • But after years of struggling to cover the ballooning costs to run the farm, it's up for sale.

Later this month, John Hume, the owner of the world's largest rhino farm, is selling up. For a minimum of $10 million, you can buy 2,000 white rhinos in South Africa.

He's been breeding white rhinos since 1993. For years, he campaigned to make it legal to sell rhino horn — a substance more valuable than elephant ivory, cocaine, or gold.

He argued that by legalizing the trade authorities could stop poaching, but despite overturning a domestic ban in 2013, the global ban remained. Without being able to sell rhino horn, the cost of running his ranch — including his sophisticated security system consisting of radar detection, helicopter patrols, and armed guards — finally became too much.

The auction of the farm is set for April 26.

After making millions working in the hotel business for a number of years, John Hume wanted to spend his retirement doing something new — running a ranch.

John Hume poses in front of a black male rhinoceros in September 2004.
John Hume poses in front of a black male rhinoceros in September 2004.Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images

Sources: The Telegraph, Pulitzer Center

Hume decided to buy a ranch covering nearly 20,000 acres located about 100 miles southeast of Johannesburg.

John Hume, owner of private rhino breeding in South Africa, standing in front of a tree.
John Hume in 2019.Jürgen Bätz/picture alliance/Getty Images

Sources: The Telegraph, National Geographic, Pulitzer Center, The Guardian

When he bought the ranch, it came with two rhinos. "They were the wildlife underdogs, and I fell for them," he told The Telegraph.

Two rhinos belonging to John Hume walk beside each other in 2016.
Two of John Hume’s rhinos in 2016.Deon Raath/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images

He said he "became aware of what wonderful natures they have but also that they're facing extinction."

"I thought the best way to make a difference is to breed them," Hume said, "and as a result, I have slowly but surely gotten myself into one hell of a corner."

Sources: The Telegraph, Pulitzer Center, Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, The Guardian

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 500,000 rhinos across the world. But that number plummeted, mostly due to poaching. Around the time Hume bought his ranch, there were as few as 50 white rhinos left in the wild.

A de-horned rhino slowly wakes up after his horn was trimmed at John Hume's Rhino Ranch
A dehorned rhino slowly wakes up after his horn was trimmed at John Hume's Rhino Ranch.Mujahid Safodien/AFP/Getty Images

Sources: Save The Rhino, The Telegraph, National Geographic, Pulitzer Center, The Guardian

For the next 30 years, Hume bred white rhinos. By 2015, he had 1,161 white rhinos. By 2023, he had about 2,000.

De-horned rhinos roam on the field at John Hume's Rhino Ranch
De-horned rhinos roam on the field at John Hume's Rhino Ranch.Mujahid Safodien/AFP/Getty Images

Sources: The Telegraph, Pulitzer Center, Wall Street Journal

Hume and a few other private owners were soon responsible for owning about a third of South Africa's rhino population. And South Africa is home to about 80% of the world's rhinos in total.

An adult rhino and baby rhino belonging to John Hume roam around at his ranch in 2016.
John Hume's rhinos roam around at his ranch in 2016.Deon Raath/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images

Source: Pulitzer Center

As Hume’s herd grew, his costs grew, too. Reports on his financial struggles became more regular after 2009, due in part to his farm’s recent opening and the new ban on rhino horn trading.

A ranger shows rhino horns to be weighed and stored at John Hume's Rhino Ranch
A ranger shows rhino horns to be weighed and stored at John Hume's Rhino Ranch.Mujahid Safodien/AFP/Getty Images

In 2006 he sold about 185 pounds of rhino horn for $83,250.

Sources: Pulitzer Center, National Geographic  

But in 2009, the South African government banned the trade. It was following the rest of the world, which had banned it in 1977.

Cut off rhino horns are lined up on a tarp as two workers are knelt beside them at John Hume's Rhino Ranch
Cut off rhino horns are weighed and stored at John Hume's Rhino RanchMujahid Safodien/AFP/Getty Images

Source: Wall Street Journal

Prior to the ban, rhino poaching was on the rise. In 2007, only 13 rhinos were reported killed, but by 2014, it had risen to 1,215 — equal to one murdered rhino every seven hours.

A helicopter takes off over a poached and mutilated white rhino in 2014.
A helicopter takes off over a poached and mutilated white rhino in 2014.Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images

It got to the point where the South African department responsible for publishing the data simply stopped providing it.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times

Rhino horn is more valuable than ivory, cocaine, or gold. It is nerveless and made of a substance called keratin, similar to a fingernail. As long as it is not fully removed from a rhino, it can grow up to 5 inches a year.

A sedated white rhino wears a blindfold ahead of its horn to be trimmed on John Hume’s farm in 2017.
A sedated and blindfolded white rhino ready for its horn to be trimmed on John Hume’s farm in 2017.Leon Neal/Getty Images

Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Guardian

Some experts argue that, although the process is noisy and looks brutal, it's no more painful than clipping a nail, and there's no bleeding.

A farm worker holds a knife to trim the horn of a blindfolded white rhino in the background on John Hume’s farm in 2016.
A farm worker holds a knife to trim the horn of a blindfolded white rhino on John Hume’s farm in 2016.Mujahid Safodie/AFP/Getty Images

Source: The Guardian

Demand for rhino horn is highest in Asia. In Vietnam, the horn is ground into a powder that's touted as a cancer medicine, but this has never been scientifically proven. In China, it's worn as a bracelet or made into cups to indicate wealth.

A woman grinds a rhino horn on a ceramic plate to get rhino horn powder at her home in Hanoi, Vietnam.
A woman grinds a rhino horn on a ceramic plate to get rhino horn powder at her home in Hanoi, Vietnam.STR/AFP/Getty Images

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Pulitzer Center

As his costs grew, Hume wanted to legalize the rhino horn trade again. He argued legalization would remove poachers from the market because private owners, like himself, could sell large volumes of horn harvested in a humane way.

John Hume, owner of the private rhino breeding farm in South Africa, stands in front of a rhino painting in the office of his rhino breeding farm.
John Hume, owner of the private rhino breeding farm in South Africa's Northwest Province, stands in front of a rhino painting in the office of his rhino breeding farm.Jürgen Bätz/picture alliance via Getty Images

He reasoned that this in effect would squeeze the poachers out of the market.

Source: Wall Street Journal 

His critics argued it helped that he had a whole lot of horn stockpiled. By 2012, he had about 2,000 pounds of rhino horn. By 2015, his stock of horn was reported to be worth more than $200 million.

Rhino horns were seen in the back of a truck after being weighed and measured on John Hume’s ranch in 2017.
Rhino horns were seen in the back of a truck after being weighed and measured on John Hume’s ranch in 2017.Leon Neal/Getty Images

At the time, 2.2 pounds of rhino horn could get more than $50,000 on the black market.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Yale Environment 360

Conservationists also didn't agree with his view that legalizing horns would cause poaching to decrease. Some believed it would only make the issue worse by increasing demand.

Hong Kong Customs agents stand in the background behind 33 rhino horns seized in 2011.
Hong Kong Customs holds a press briefing on the seizure of 33 rhino horns in 2011.Dickson Lee/South China Morning Post/Getty Images

Margot Stewart, the leader of a nonprofit group called Wild and Free South Africa, wrote an open letter to Hume.

She said farming rhino horn was unethical as a whole, and there were only two groups who wanted it to happen — rhino farmers and organized crime groups.

Source: Wall Street Journal

But Hume didn't agree. "I am completely convinced that what I am doing is the only way to save the rhino from extinction," he told the Los Angeles Times.

Rangers and farm workers de-horn a blindfolded rhino by trimming part of his horn with an eletric saw at John Hume's Rhino Ranch.
Rangers and farm workers dehorn a rhino by trimming part of his horn at John Hume's Rhino Ranch.Mujahid Safodien/AFP/Getty Images

He said selling the horns was the only way his herd could survive as his costs continued to grow.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times

In 2013, Hume was part of a lawsuit that successfully overturned the domestic ban on the trade. But according to The Telegraph, it was too little, too late.

A man holds up the tip of a horn from a white rhino after it was removed during the trimming procedure at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume.
A man holds up the end of a white rhino’s horn in 2017.Leon Neal/Getty Images

Overturning the ban meant the horns could be sold within South Africa, but by then, the local population wasn't interested.

Source: The Telegraph

By 2015, he was spending more than $2.4 million a year to protect his rhinos and another $1.7 million on food, veterinarian bills, and staff. Meanwhile, there was no money coming in.

Two armed guards at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume on October 16, 2017.
Two armed guards at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume on October 16, 2017.Leon Neal/Getty Images

He told the Los Angeles Times he continued the business out of "stupidity."

"You get into it and you get more and more passionate about it," Hume said. "You think that things are going to get better. And slowly you get so far into it, you can't get out."

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Telegraph

But he couldn't walk away. Between 2007 and 2017, poachers killed more than 7,100 rhinos. It had gotten so bad that animal welfare groups were forecasting that rhinos faced extinction within a decade.

A team of wildlife vets perform an operation to rescue a rhino in South Africa in 2016.
A team of wildlife vets perform an operation to rescue a rhino in South Africa in 2016.Moeletsi Mabe/The Times/Gallo Images/Getty Images

Sources: The Telegraph, BBC, The Guardian

In 2017, he hosted South Africa's first online rhino auction, hoping to make some money by selling some of his stock of rhino horn. But, according to his lawyers, the auction ended less successfully than he had hoped.

Water is sprayed onto an area of the rhino as its horn is trimmed on John Hume’s ranch in 2017.
Water is sprayed onto an area of the rhino as its horn is trimmed on John Hume’s ranch in 2017.Leon Neal/Getty Images

Source: The Guardian

Hume did find some success with his security. Between 2017 and 2019, his security system — a mixture of radar monitoring, helicopter patrols, armed guards, and security dogs — completely stopped poaching on his ranch.

An armed guard rides in the back of a truck at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume
An armed guard rides in the back of a truck at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume.Leon Neal/Getty Images

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, National Geographic

But things were getting desperate. By 2019, he'd spent his entire fortune on the ranch — $115 million euros ($143 million).

A white rhino stumbles as it begins to feel the effects of a tranquilizer dart before having its horn trimmed
A white rhino stumbles as it begins to feel the effects of a tranquilizer dart before having its horn trimmed.Leon Neal/Getty Images

Sources: The Telegraph, Pulitzer Center

He wrote to a number of billionaires requesting funds for his ranch, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Prince Harry.

Prince Harry crouches near a rhino carcass in South Africa in 2015.
Prince Harry looks at a rhino carcass in South Africa in 2015.Paul Edwards/Getty Images

In the past, the South African government had received millions from the US and from private donors including Warren Buffet's son.

Sources: The Telegraph, Pulitzer Center

In the end, with no help coming, despite putting everything he had into it, he decided it was too expensive to continue running the ranch. He was 81 years old.

John Hume, private rhino breeder, looks on while sitting in a chair with two dogs at his feet.
John Hume, a private rhino breeder, looks on during an interview with Reuters at his Buffalo Dream Ranch.Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

Sources: Bloomberg, National Geographic

The auction is set for April 26. The starting bid is $10 million. He's hoping for bidders who would continue his mission, but time will tell who will ultimately take up the mantle.

Farm workers tie up a rhino on John Hume's ranch to have its horn trimmed
A rhino is captured to have its horn trimmed on John Hume’s ranch in 2016.Mujahid Safodien/AFP/Getty Images

Sources: Bloomberg, National Geographic

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