Dubbo Regional Council, New South Wales, was devastated to report that ‘Arthur’ the rhino, which usually stands in Wellington, had his horn poached in November.
Council staff were made aware that a member of the public vandalized Arthur, poaching his horn, and leaving the rhino with extensive damage.
Mayor, Ben Shields, said, “It was disappointing to see someone take this rhino horn. When things like this happen, money has to be reallocated to fix the rhino, or we have to wait to see if we can secure grant funding, which means other areas might miss out too.”
The act of vandalism was reported to police, but Arthur faces an uncertain future.
“Arthur is named after the iconic Mount Arthur, and painted by a local artist and school student, to capture some of the iconic features of Wellington.
“To see that members of the community don’t value the significance of this is sad.”
Arthur is one of a kind and without any spare rhinos on hand to replace the one vandalised in Wellington, and as Council doesn’t have an infinite pool of money, Arthur may not be around in the future for people to enjoy.
“The rhino has been taken to a secure location, where he is protected, however, we don’t know if he’ll ever return home.”
