Rhino poaching

South Africa has the largest population of rhino’s in Africa. In large parts of Africa rhino’s are extinct already. The reason for this is poaching. In Asian countries, especially China and Vietnam, people believe that the horn of the rhino has medicinal value and they are willing to pay a lot for that. In Yemen they want the horn to use as the handle of their ritual dagger. Until a few years back South Africa managed to protect its rhino population very well

and it even grew steadily. Since 2008 however, there is a dramatic increase in the numbers of poached rhino’s! The rhino’s are nowhere safe anymore it seems. National parks and Private Reserves have to battle against poaching and lose rhino’s almost every day. This year alone, already 121 rhino’s have been killed, of which two very recently close to the Orpen gate of the Kruger Park. On the bright side, regularly people are arrested and poachers are convicted, but so far it is too little to protect the remaining rhino’s. There is also a clear shift in the kind of poachers, before it were mostly poor local people, now professional hunters, ex-militaries and even vets are involved.

Just catching the poachers is not the solution, the people who smuggle the horns out of the country are maybe even more important. South Africa can not win this war on its own, support H.O.R.N. (Help Our Rhino Now) via facebook to do your part in the fight against poaching.

Regards from the bush,

Miriam