 Your new post is loading...
Fourteen rhino have been killed in a space of 24 hours bringing the tally of rhino killed for their horn to 327 in South Africa since January. The tally includes seven rhinos that had already been dehorned but were killed for their stumps in the Machadadorp area, five were adults, two calves; two in the Thabazimbi area and two in the Vaalwater area.
Dehorning rhino has been seen as a way to protect these gentle herbivores, but the horn does slowly grow back and the extortionate price of rhino horn on the black market, up to £40,000 per kilo, means that even the smallest scrappings are of value to the poachers.
This sudden upsurge on top of the already devastating wave of poaching may be a result of the trade talks at the recent CITES meeting with traders anticipating a lift on the trade ban and stockpiling in preparation. Whatever the motive, this horrendous wave of slaughter in South Africa now seems to be out of control.
"This latest news is a great sadness to us but we will continue our fight to save the rhino in Africa and Asia to ensure its survival for future generations," says DSWF CEO, Sally Case.
An environmental organisation has launched a mobile game to raise awareness on the scourge of rhino poaching.
Vinh Chuong “Jimmy” Kha, 50, and Felix Kha 26, were sentenced today in federal district court in Los Angeles to serve 42 and 46 months, respectively, in prison for crimes related to illegal international trafficking of rhinoceros horn, announced Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice and André Birotte Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. In addition to the prison sentences, the two defendants were ordered to pay a total of $20,000 in criminal fines and pay a $185,000 tax fraud penalty and assessment. In addition, Jimmy Kha’s Win Lee Corporation was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. Jimmy and Felix Kha, along with Win Lee Corporation, were also ordered to pay a total of $800,000 in restitution to the Multinational Species Conservation Fund, a statutorily created fund that is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to support international efforts to protect and conserve rhinos and other critically endangered species around the world. The defendants previously abandoned their portion of interest in $2 million worth of rhino parts and vehicles seized in the investigation....
JOHANNESBURG - A rhino poacher has been wounded in a shootout with rangers in the Pretoriuskop section of the Kruger National Park. Three poachers were confronted by rangers on Tuesday night which led to a shootout after which two poachers were caught and the third managed to escape. SANPark's Ike Phaahla said, “A rifle, ammunition and an axe were found in their possession. The third suspect unfortunately managed to escape.” The two men will appear in court on Thursday. Over 200 rhino have been poached since the beginning of 2013. On Monday, three men appeared in court in KwaZulu-Natal for rhino poaching. The trio was arrested last week in the Nisela Nature Reserve after an unlicensed firearm and 10 rounds of ammunition were found in their vehicle. At least 668 rhino were poached throughout the country during 2012.
A Limerick Traveller facing prosecution in Austria in connection with the theft of rhino horns, has had his case further adjourned at the High Court.
Durban - Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has given the green light for a R4-million sponsorship of two anti-rhino poaching helicopters as well as securing two fixed-wing aircraft to bolster the fight against the onslaught of rhino poaching in KZN.... The money allows for the upgrading of one helicopter, sourced from King Shaka Aviation, to a bigger one that will cover an expanded area around Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP)....
What do gold, platinum and rhino horn have in common? They are among the most expensive materials in the world... In order to prevent poaching preemptively, the Rhino Rescue Project (RRP) was born. Its founders Ed and Lorinda Hern of the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve in Krugersdorp developed together with veterinarian Charles van Niekerk a device that injects red dye into rhino horns.
Yes, it is exactly the kind of indelible dye that is used for ruining bank robbers’ prey and tagging the thieves. RRP’s spokeswoman Lorinda Hern didn’t want to share the exact name of the product due to security reasons, but it is known that it works similar as industry products like Disperse Red 9, which also goes under the name of 1-methylamino anthraquinone...
Arrests for rhino poaching in South Africa increased considerably this week, with 11 alleged poachers arrested in the eastern half of the country. SANParks said eight of the 11 people arrested this week were caught during joint operations. Since 1 January 2013, 292 rhinos have been poached. The Kruger National park continues to be the worst hit, with 216 rhinos poached. 23 rhinos have been poached in North West Province, 20 in KwaZulu-Natal, 19 in Limpopo and 14 in Mpumalanga. Since January, 94 people have been caught for poaching rhino and smuggling rhino horn. 44 alleged poachers have been arrested in the Kruger National Park, 20 in Limpopo, 13 in KwaZulu-Natal, 8 in North West Province, 6 in Mpumalanga and 3 in Gauteng....
FOUR suspected poachers who killed a rhino a month ago have been given a Sh1 million bond each by a Nanyuki court.
Ninety-four people have been arrested for rhino poaching and smuggling rhino horn since the start of 2013, the environmental affairs department has said.
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa and Vietnam have agreed to exchange the names of registered hunters in a bid to stop rhino poachers who obtain hunting permits under false pretences, a spokesman said Monday. Authorities are targeting these hunters who take advantage of laws allowing them to export the rhino horn as a hunting trophy to trade it illegally, mostly on the Asian black market....
Ho Chi Minh City customs officials have seized more than seven kilograms of rhino horns amidst international pressure on the country to crank up its efforts to crack down on the illegal trade. The officials found the two horns, weighing 7.28 kilograms, wrapped in silver paper and hidden in the luggage of a passenger identified only as 34-year-old N.D.D, who arrived in HCMC on a flight from Doha late Saturday. The horns were presumably sourced from Africa, the officials said. D. has been detained pending further investigations, the police said, without elaborating.....
(POACHING) JOHANNESBURG — Possibly betrayed by the very people sworn to protect them, the last 15 rhinos in Mozambique have met a horrible fate.
|
Technology originally developed for military and security use, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, could be used as another weapon in the fight against rhino poaching, according to Saab. Jerker..
The biggest rhino sale in South Africa this year had the feel of a clandestine gathering yesterday as potential rhino buyers secretly made their bids - to avoid their farms being targeted by poachers....
Good intelligence is at the heart of every successful military operation and efforts to tip the balance in favour of those fighting to prevent the wholesale slaughter of rhinos are being boosted by..
If you guessed “China,” you were wrong. The answer is Vietnam. The country’s appetite for rhino horn is so great that it now fetches up to $100,000/kg, ($300,000 per horn) making it worth more than its weight in gold. (Horns average around 1-3 kg each, depending on the species.)
The defenders of Africa's rhinos are battling a well-financed and well-informed enemy. Poachers clear $40,000 or more for a single rhino horn.... It says a lot about the state of the war against poachers in Africa that the Lewa Conservancy, a private sanctuary in Kenya with 12 percent of the country's rhinos, recently appointed a CEO who has never studied zoology or biology. Instead, Mike Watson is an ex-captain in the British army. His training has already come in handy. Take, for instance, a visit to a crime scene earlier this year: a rhino carcass splayed out in the mud.... Read or Listen http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/05/14/183914773/The-Enemy-Inside-Rhinos-Protectors-Sometimes-Aid-Poachers
Kay Burley: If we let poachers win the battle with rhinos in South Africa, these magnificent creatures will soon be no more
Tiger bones, rhinoceros horn and bear bile, oh my! Unfortunately, sometimes these things come to mind when people hear about traditional Chinese medicine. While it’s true that these have all been used as TCM herbs, thankfully in North America they are illegal to use or sell. Rhino horns are thought to improve virility for men. It doesn’t. But, some things that do have similar characteristics to human anatomy do have actual physical effect on the twin part. For example, walnuts look like brains, and their omega-3 fatty acids do support brain health. The diuretic Chinese herb qu mai is the stem of a plant that looks like a urinary tube and thus, it is used to treat urinary tract infections. But rhino horns are best left on the magnificent beasts....
If you sign this petition it will show that we will not tolerate the horrific needless slaughtering of animals outside of our country.
Discovery Communications has picked up two wildlife documentaries from independent UK producer and distributor Power to air across Europe on its Animal Planet channel.
To legalize or not to legalize the trading of rhino horns to save the black rhino, white rhino from extinction in South Africa? Despite the huge lobby to legalize rhino horn trade as a means to curb the poaching of endangered rhino and stop the wildlife trafficking and illegal trade, we at NIKELA remain opposed. We are not wildlife conservationists, we do not own rhino, and we have no financial stake in whether rhino horn is traded or not. As citizens of our planet, as humans who care for wildlife and the protection of habitats and ecosystems we are fully committed to do all we can to stop the poaching and all other activities that compromise the preservation of wildlife and its environment....
The illegal slaughter of these majestic beasts has caused outrage globally - and rightly so. Animals are being lost on an almost daily basis. In 2013 there have been in excess of 273 rhino slayings in South Africa alone.
JOHANNESBURG - Eight suspected rhino poachers have been arrested in Mpumalanga, SA National Parks (SANParks) said on Thursday. Five suspects were arrested on Wednesday en route to Timbavati Private Game Reserve, said spokesman Paul Daphne in a statement. Daphne said the men were found in possession of a high calibre hunting rifle, ammunition and poaching equipment. The Timbavati Group had been put under heavy surveillance for three weeks, following a joint operation between the Kruger National Park (KNP), Mpumalanga Tourism and SANParks....
|
