Dear Tony,
As someone who works both for a museum of Natural History and for the
charity Save the Rhino, I would like to add my voice to the chorus of
support that you have received thus far. I feel extremely proud that
'our team' scored one for once and that the scoundrels got away with
nothing.
Given the stories of tear gas and guns that have been employed at
other such museum-rhino horn raids, I feel the bravery of all involved
is none short of heroic and I am greatly relieved that no-one was
injured. Though if the thieves car had blown up on the way out... but
we can't have everything.
A heart-felt well done to you and all involved.
Kindest regards,
Emma
---
Emma-Louise Nicholls
Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy
UCL Museums and Collections
University College London
Rockefeller Building
21 University Street
London
WC1E 6DE
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 2051 (Or 52051 from within UCL)
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: www.grant.museum.ucl.ac.uk
Blog: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/UCL-Museums-and-Collections/352538109391
Twitter: http://twitter.com/@uclmuseums
On 2/22/12, Paolo Viscardi <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Tony,
>
> I was very pleased to hear of your success in defeating the attempt on the
> Norwich rhino horn - bravo!
>
> This incident is a good example of the very real threat that thieves pose
> to collections and I hope that the near-miss in Norwich will galvanise
> other organisations to take their specimens off display and get them into
> safe storage, for the sake of the specimens and for the staff (as suggested
> in the NatSCA guidance on rhino horn
> http://natsca.info/content/rhino-horn-guidance-museums).
>
> In the last year or so there have been thefts reported from 27 other
> European collections - from small and low-profile historic houses right up
> to Nationals. This is a problem that shows no sign of going away any time
> soon. The next NatSCA News will have some more information on the
> situation, for those who are interested in the broader context of the
> problem.
>
> All of that aside, I must reiterate my congratulations on foiling the raid
> - I'm glad that no-one was hurt and it's great to see that the thieves
> aren't having things all their own way!
>
> All the very best,
>
> Paolo
>
>
>
> On 22 February 2012 13:26, Irwin, Tony <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> **
>>
>> **Attempted theft of rhino head at Norwich Museum**
>>
>>
>>
>> Some of you may have heard about an attempted theft of our rhino head
>> from the Natural History Gallery in Norwich Castle on 20 February. Four
>> men
>> entered the Castle via the front entrance. Two of them paid while two
>> apparently sneaked in with a large group. They waited for some time in the
>> gallery while a party from Cambridge Zoology Museum were being shown round
>> by us. Shortly after we left the gallery, the men emerged from the gallery
>> shouting at people to get out of the way. Two of the gang were carrying
>> the
>> rhino head, while the other two were clearing a path. One of the party
>> from
>> Cambridge, aided by a member of the public, was able to slow down their
>> progress, while one of the Norwich staff swept the legs from under the
>> gang, causing them to drop the head. At this point more staff were
>> arriving
>> and the gang wisely decided to run away empty-handed. They ran to the
>> front
>> exit where a fifth person was waiting with a car, its boot already open.
>> They drove away quickly. Police arrived very soon afterwards, studied CCTV
>> footage and took statements.
>>
>> Following thefts from museums elsewhere, we had already been deliberating
>> about what to do with our rhino, realising that despite relatively good
>> security, the head was still at risk from the violent strategy adopted by
>> the gang(s) involved in previous incidents. As it was, luck played a part,
>> alongside the swift intervention of staff and visitors. Under other
>> circumstances, we could have lost the rhino.
>>
>> We will now be replacing the horn with a well marked replica, and our
>> advice to any museum with rhino horn on public or semipublic display is to
>> remove it and lock it up immediately.
>>
>> Finally, a big thank you to colleagues from Cambridge for their
>> quick-thinking intervention. We hope that we never have to repay the debt
>> in the same way!
>>
>> **** **
>>
>> Tony Irwin & Dave Waterhouse
>>
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>>
>
--
Life could end tomorrow
So live it with a passion that will last forever
We should never allow our fears, nor the expectations of others, to set the
frontiers of our destiny
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