At least 688 rhinos have been poached in South Africa this year, surpassing last year’s record of 668 with more than three months remaining in 2013, reports the country’s top environmental official. In a speech given September 21 — the day before World Rhino Day — Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa presented […]
Tag: rhino horn

Seven rhinos killed by poachers in Kenya’s bloodiest week
Gunshots rang out across the wilderness on 23 May when poachers shot to death one rhino in Lake Nakuru National Park. Then three days later on 26 May they struck two sites, Solio Ranch near Nyeri in central Kenya, and at Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary in Tsavo West National Park killing one rhino in each protected […]

Rhino horn DNA database introduced
A new DNA database is being set up to hold genetic information on all the rhinoceros horn in the UK in an attempt to stop its theft and trade. It’s probably not every day that a museum will get a couple of drill bits in the post accompanied by a polite request to bore a […]

The Thai ‘honeypots’ used to traffic wild animals out of South Africa: Women pose as hunters with licences to slaughter rhinos
This photograph of a Thai woman sitting on top of a dead rhino with a rifle in hand is a ‘fake hunt’ photo allowing poachers to get away with their illegal wildlife trade, authorities believe. Authorities say that she is one of the women allegedly hired by a Laotian wildlife trafficking gang to pose as […]