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Subscribe to RSSA rhino orphanage has opened in South Africa's northern province of Limpopo -- the first of its kind in the world. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports.
Poachers have killed 455 rhinos so far this year in South Africa -- more than half in a single national park -- topping last year’s mark of 448, South Africa announced this week. The rhinos are killed for their horns, which fetch thousands of dollars and are ground up as a purported treatment for illnesses and hangovers.
Kruger National Park, the crown jewel of the country's park system, saw 272 killings, South African National Parks said in a report Tuesday.
The World Wildlife Fund urged South Africa to provide more on-the-ground protection and to press Vietnam, which has become the main destination for rhino horns.
"WWF is concerned that the memorandum of understanding with Vietnam for collaborative action against illegal rhino horn trade remains unsigned," Jo Shaw, the group's rhino coordinator in South Africa, said in a statement. "There is also an urgent need for law enforcement actions by neighboring countries which are implicated as transit routes for illegal trade in rhino horn, specifically Mozambique."
The group did praise South Africa for a spike in poaching arrests, but added that a key test will be what happens in a trial that begins Friday.
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In South Africa, home to three quarters of the last remaining rhinos on the planet, a spike in rhino poaching is threatening the white rhino's survival. Rising demand for the lucrative rhino horn in places such as Vietnam has led to a drastic increase in poaching. Traditional medicine systems in Asia promote the horn as having special healing powers. Gram for gram, rhino horn is more valuable on the black market in Asia than cocaine or gold. More than 400 rhinos were killed last year in South Africa, leaving conservationists, security forces and private game reserve owners scrambling to protect the animal. Harry Smith reports.
Dubbed the "Groenewald Gang," a safari tour operator, veterinarians, professional hunters and a helicopter pilot face charges related to the killing of 20 rhinos.
"The world is watching to see that South Africa is prepared to prosecute rhino crimes to the fullest extent of the law and take these crimes seriously as an affront to South Africa’s national heritage," Shaw said.
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Poaching of rhino horns and elephant tusks has increased across Africa and Asia as demand has risen in recent years.
In South Africa, just 13 rhinos were slaughtered in 2007, followed by 83 in 2008. The number has steadily increased since then.
Shaw noted that while "more rhinos are being born than are dying" in South Africa, that could change. "We are approaching the critical tipping point where rhino numbers go into decline and would undermine conservation efforts."
Related: Rhino slaughter tied to Vietnam
Africa is home to two rhino species: the black and the white rhino.
South Africans are waging a desperate battle against rhino poachers. Anti-poaching patrol units are using deadly force in public parks. DNA samples are being taken of rhino horns to trace them on the Asian black market. Private game reserve owners have made the tough decision to pre-emptively dehorn their rhinos to try to thwart poachers. Harry Smith reports on the temporary solutions South Africans are implementing to protect the rhino from poachers.
White rhinos had declined to fewer than 12,000 in 2001, but conservation efforts have increased that to 20,000, WWF noted.
The black rhino population dropped to around 2,000 in the 1990s, but has recovered to around 4,800. As recently as the 1960s, 65,000 black rhinos roamed Africa, WWF said.
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Time to execute some of these fools for robbing the world of a priceless resource.
How about execute all of them?!
yeah. no kidding! for a hangover cure, at best? unbelievable.
Sheer disgust. The savages need to be shot on sight. I just cannot
believe that we as humans cannot stop this.
are you serious, sandra? we havent been able to stop wars, terrorism, murder, personal assault, rape, genocide, mindless republicans shouting stupid, venom-filled blather at mindless democrats and vice versa; how in the world do you propose we stop these human savages in the remote reaches of africa?
Cut off their horns. They do not need them.
I was thinking that they should make the parks 100% off limits except to those with authorized groups. Then, they arm the people in those groups with large-bore rifles, and when they go out looking for rhinos (just to look at), they can shoot any poachers they see. They would be able to charge top dollar for getting the chance to shoot a poacher.
That way, they get to shoot something, and help solve a problem.
Execute? Really? What's the penalty for killing a baby (human)? They are a priceless resource as well.
Single - yes I am very serious.
I just wish people would stop referring to it as 'traditional Asian medicine'. It's ignorant, primitive witchcraft and anybody involved should be treated with contempt.
What about putting more boots on the ground? SA isn't in any war. They have a fairly decent and modern Army. Why not let the Army patrol these reserves enforcing the poaching laws and getting training at the same time?
Humans CAN stop or atleast decrease this horrible act if we actually had STRICT and SERIOUS judicial systems.
All we have to do is shoot poachers dead--that way they are eliminated from earth and any possible poacher would think twice before poaching!! Same thing goes for anybody that hurts a human...just get rid of the damn waste! We don't need those kinds of people here!
Bill D - Forget shooting them. When you catch them, wound them and then cut their b##S$ off and send them to the Vienamese to grind up for their medicine and for their hangovers!!! Guarantee that doing that would surely slow down the poaching. Oh hell, go ahead and shoot them. Don't know if they are worth a bullet, but go ahead.
Let's come up with a non-lethal virus we can infect all Rhino's that causes the human testes to permanently shrivel up to the size of a raisin. If we can't do that, I'll volunteer my bench vice to do the job :).
There are already "shoot to kill on sight" order's for gamekeepers in much of Africa, patrolling for poachers is very dangerous and requires specific skills. The easiest way to stop this is to sanction Vietnam with the same crippling sanctions used to eliminate the Apartheid government. The world must force Vietnam to hand out lengthy prison terms for people trading in rhino horn, elephant tusk, or ivory. Any currently owned examples of the above both public and private need to be registered and ownership registration transfered if sold, just like a car.
Dry up the demand and the poaching will stop.
Do away with not only the poachers but with the traffikers who provide the transportation of these "goods". You kill about so many of these gooks and they might think a bit about things. But then again, it's never stopped drug lords or that sort.
Workin Hard....when humans come near extinction then we will worry about them but as long as humans are the cause of other species going extinct, not really gonna worry about them. Humans continue to think they are better than everything else that is on this planet.....
meezermom you are dead on!
Meezermom - We aren't? I'll bet you are a pretty nice person, are you not?
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this topic. Have a nice day . . .
Meezermom59 - I am no god worshiper but BLESS YOU :) This self-righteous speciesist attitude of some people will no doubt continue us humans for few more decades and worsen the life on this planet for all other species. Human numbers are rising and i don't see how that is good in this age. Try to fathom the climbing number of 7 billion and suddenly the phrase "saving (human) lives" has a hollow ring to it.
Death to all that kill these animals and to the scum buying the products (body parts)
Interesting how killing and buying parts of humans is "protected" but this is cause for a death sentence.
Rotten filty humans who do this. I hope they die a long miserable painful death for doing this.
I agree with Bill (above). I say we poach those responsible and take 'em out a-ways into that lovely South African ocean water, give a jab in their side so the blood comes welcomely into the water, and wait just a few moments for that beautiful apex predator of those seas, the great white, and then we can say we're even, even though the pain to the rhino and the natural world was much greater.
Keep buying those cheap goods made in China and Vietnam, folks. Those Asian workers (who now have your jobs) are using their disposible income to buy snake oil medicines and aphrodisiacs made from rhino horns and elephant tusks, not to mention their lust for shark fin soup. Every piece of China junk you buy at WallyMart fuels the decimation of these beautiful animals. Tell corporate America to take a hike...buy local and second-hand goods whenever you can. Puts money back in our economy, too.
Robbie, very good post.
Since the effects of rhino horn are imagined anyway, I don't understand why someone couldn't just flood the Asian markets with fake rhino horn powder and products to remove the incentive to poach new animals.
There would be no supply without demand. I agree with you cjboffoli on that point. The Asian market needs a serious reality check when it comes to resources that feed their medicinal purposes. Does this stuff even work anyway? Hangover meds, how lame can you be to have to kill off an innocent animal just to potentially cure your ailment that you caused yourself from a night of partying?
That or they could try to set up a rhino farm since the horns grow back. Why not just sell the horns and make a profit to help out the rhinos? What better way to increase the numbers? It would help pay for the feed and guards since poachers would still want cheap horns.
Instead we spend money to tranq the rhinos and to put a poison packet in their horn. If the poachers hit the packet the horn is poisoned, but they might just wash it off and sell it anyway. Not like they are going to eat it. They might even be able to see/tell where the packet is too depending on how long ago it was put in.
It's so sad to hear how these kinds of animals are rapidly on the decline because of human greed. It's their only defense weapon and means of survival and yet we take it away from them because we believe it's more important for us to possess it than their own livelihood. They need to be press harder, tougher consequences on these poachers (death if necessary) and these Asian countries need to step up and confiscate and penalize those that import and sell these animal parts AND to educate and debunk these myths to traditionalists that don't believe in western medicine in general.
White rule in South Africa was better even for the rhinos... it is a shame what is happening to SA in every way.
Yes Max, but you can't be so vague. The MSM doesn't let the sheeple know that while hundreds of poor rhinos are being hunted for their horns, THOUSANDS of the White people who made SA the great country it was are being slaughtered yearly by the indigenous black hordes there, with the full blessing of the ANC.
Ramay - there are millions of hard working blacks in SA who are also victims of the current black kleptocracy and thugs associated with them. Given free hand they will not stop until SA is a total basket case like Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). Rhodesia used to be one of the richest countries in Africa... look at them now - begging for food from UN and ripped to shreds by conflicts and corruption.
I don't know which group of humans is dumbest - the taliban or these poachers. Dumb as a plastic anvil sitting in a birds nest.
What will they do after they kill the last one?
Extinction is forever.
They'll probably just move on to something else. As long as there are selfish jackasses willing to buy products of endangered species, there will be selfish jackasses willing to poach them.
Rhino Slaughter? Isn't that Ted Nugent's new band?
On Rhino Records, right ?
That humans have to exterminate groups of animals, much like other human "groups", is based on superstition - the former that ingredients have magical cures, the latter that the genocide has magical cures. Humans are truly sick.
apple - I don't know you but I'll bet you aren't as bad as you think . . . .
In addition to flooding the market with fake rhino horn (easy to do...it's just keratin), pay to put up billboards in Vietnam and China that essentially say, "Buy overpriced medically useless powdered rhino horn and show your neighbors how stupid you are." This will work better in such countries than any appeal to conservation.
Possibly a more profitable use for cow hooves than dog chews.
Animals are more precious than humans for the most part as they are not EVIL nor capable of it. They were put here to be cared for by humans. Death to poachers and to those demanding the products they provide.
Debby - I'll bet you are precious, don't be so hard on yourself.
God sees it different than you do:
Genesis 1:26-28
Lets go poacher hunting !
Boycott all products, born of the Nation that is buying RHINO horns. CHINA, Boycott all products from Japan for their treatment of Whales. IF we did this. These Nations would OUTLAW sales of either product in their nations. NO MORE MARKETS NO MORE KILLINGS.
Unfortunately, Greg, the US is beholden to China because we owe them so much money, and I believe the US is afraid to stand up to China, so we must continually prostitute ourselves to them.
Obama is afraid to stand up to China. Why do we keep borrowing money from China? We should be able to tell China, Vietnam, all these countries that believe in this crap to stop killing these animals and educate their people better. These animals deserve to be protected.
We need to let the whites take over South Africa again. They did not allow this.
Open season on all poachers-that should take care of the problem--also, any of our sharpshooters need practice I would send them out there for "boot camp" and keep rotating them until the poachers are extinct-
Next, education. Vietnam, just cut off the supply-this is not the 16th century-if they can use cell phones, they can read and they can understand-
Those bastards need to be shot on sight. I wish I had the resources to go there and kill a few of those poachers. In this day and age of Cialis and Viagara, why do these animals need to be poached ? I guess those a-holes who buy the product have small penises and need to prove their manhood. God made you that way for a reason, butt-munches.
Form and allow, world wide POCHER HUNTER HUNTS.
THERE IS A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO RHINO POACHING:
The horns should be removed (by wildlife officials) on a regular basis so as to remove the profit motive to kill rhinos.
Any risk to rhinos from anesthesia and/or the procedure is more than offset by them not being killed outright by poachers.
I hope the campaign that Yao Ming started will start to work pretty soon.
So we punish the Rhino by removing its horn. Screw that, kill the poachers on sight and start putting crippling financial sanctions on the countries that are importing the horns until their governments do something about it.
Working Hard Are you about living, breathing, feeling "babies" or undeveloped, unfeeling zygotes/ fetus's?
The punishment for murdering "babies" is the same as for murdering any other human and in many cases the punishment is hard enough. Humans are in danger of extinction because of over breeding and overpopulation.
M6X3 If the rhino is sedated when it is removed, it isn't harmed, well maybe psychologically if we could analyze it. By doing this it makes it unrewarding for the poachers and saved from a violent, painful death. I still think the poachers should be executed. We have people here in this country that would kill the last living animal treasure if they could.
I hope the campaign that Yao Ming started will start to work pretty soon.
China has more perspective than that. Athletes are kept in their place.
Notice how he doesn't go to the source with his shenanigans. He's going after the prostitutes and not the johns...
Ian Emdee,
...those horns are for the rhinos, not for humans. They are born with horns on them for protection and other purposes. I understand your point but in reality, the rhinos should be left the hell alone! Period.
These innocent rhinos have a life, a heartbeat, and breathe just like we humans do so what makes them inferior? If anything, humans are inferior because they're pathetic and greedy and do not appreciate anything around them until it's gone.
The BEST simple solution to ANY poaching is to shoot the poachers dead!!