Groups Decry Zimbabwean Rhino Poachers
17 April 2009
by Anai Rhoads
AnaiRhoads.org -- As Zimbabwe's economy teeters on near collapse, poachers are taking the opportunity to stalk and kill endangered rhinos now more than ever before.
Deaths of black and white rhinos in Zimbabwe doubled in 2008, which is directly attributed to illegal poaching. At least 90 animals were killed last year, and 18 have already been slaughtered in the first quarter of 2009.
"We likely will need to move as many as 50-60 rhinos out of at-risk areas in 2009," said Raoul du Toit, of Zimbabwe's Lowveld Rhino Trust, which holds 80 percent of the country's black rhinos. "Without intervention, rhinos in some areas will definitely be lost. In the Midlands Conservancy, the black rhino population has declined from 45 a few years ago to five animals now. We don't want to see those losses repeated elsewhere."
The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and Save the Rhino is asking the Zimbabwe government and international agencies to make a more concerted effort to save the rhinos and other compromised species from further harm.
These non-profit groups are putting emphasis on Zimbabwe's ecotourism in order to push the country into action.
"We must attach an economic value to rhinos so that local people can be given financial incentives to protect them," states du Toit.
"Zimbabwe's economic crisis is serious, and it now also is in danger of losing its biological currency - rhinos and other wildlife," said Dr. Susie Ellis of the IRF, which funds anti-poaching patrols in five countries. "This high-value biological currency could be a key factor in turning around the economy through ecotourism - if we can act now to ensure it is not lost."
In the 1980's, Zimbabwe's black rhino population was nearly wiped out before anti-poaching efforts were in place. The country currently has the fourth largest population of black rhinos worldwide due to the vigilant effort of animal rights groups.
"Most rhino horn is sold on the black market for use to reduce fever in traditional Asian medicine," said London-based Cathy Dean, from Save the Rhino. "In some Middle Eastern countries, rhino horn is used for ornamental dagger handles - a status symbol procured at a terrible cost."
Zimbabwean poachers once used the snare method to capture and dehorn the animals, but since the economy has weakened so severely in their country, they are now relying on bullets. This is said to have increased their ability to kill more animals, and has made rescue efforts difficult for the groups who seek to save the rhinos.
Zimbabwe is known to be one of the poorest countries in the world and is notorious for its deteriorating political and economic crisis - which has only led to more wildlife poaching.
The poachers are aware that the bond between a rhino mother and her calf is exceptionally strong. They often target the calf first, knowing that the mother will return without fail to mourn over her calf's remains. This is where the poachers kill the mother for her horn.
Despite the laws in place forbidding the murder of these animals, not a single poacher has been sentenced since 2006.
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