1175 rhinos killed by poachers
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

In South Africa 2015

1175 rhinos killed by poachers

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle1175 rhinos killed by poachers

Demand for rhinoceros horn made of keratin
Pretoria - Arab Today

Nearly 1,200 rhinos were killed by poachers in South Africa last year, officials said Thursday, a slight decrease on 2014, but another year of carnage fuelled by Asian-led demand for their horn.

Fewer than 100 rhinos were poached in 2008, since when numbers have rocketed. A record 1,215 were killed in 2014.

The slaughter has been driven by demand for their horn in countries such as China and Vietnam, where they are prized for their purported medicinal properties.

The horn is composed mainly of keratin, the same component as in human nails, but it is sold in powdered form as a supposed cure for cancer and other diseases.

"These numbers are hardly cause for celebration or complacency," said Sabri Zain, director of policy at Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring group.

"The figures remain unacceptably high, and continent-wide the scale of the rhino poaching crisis is spreading."

Traffic said poaching in neighbouring Zimbabwe and Namibia had increased -- meaning last year was the worst for rhino killed across Africa for decades.

South African Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa admitted the "onslaught against our rhino has continued unabated" but she hailed the toll of 1,175 as a major success.

"We are very pleased to announce that for the first time for a decade the poaching situation has stabilised," she told reporters in Pretoria.

"This is very good news and very good cause for optimism."

Molewa said 317 poachers had been arrested in 2015, up from 258 in 2014.
Many of the armed gangs are based in Mozambique, across the border from the Kruger National Park.

- Legalise trade? -

The soaring price of rhino horn and the poaching crisis has sparked a debate on whether to legalise sales in an attempt to stifle the lucrative black market trade.

Legally dehorning a rhino would see a farm owner put the animal under anaesthesia, then saw off the horn.

A South African judge in November lifted a domestic ban on trade in rhino horn, alarming conservationists.
The government lost an appeal against the decision this week, but said on Thursday it would go to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

"It is hard to see any positive conservation benefits from lifting the moratorium on domestic trade in rhino horn," Colman O'Criodain, wildlife trade expert at the WWF, said.

"There is no domestic demand for rhino horn in South Africa, so it is inconceivable that anyone would buy it -- unless they intend to sell it abroad illegally or they are speculating that international trade will be legalised."

The case, bought by two game breeders, came ahead of a meeting in Johannesburg in September of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which could lift the global ban.

"Every rhino horn we cut off, the rhino stays alive, whereas every single rhino that poachers take the horns from is killed," Izak du Toit, a lawyer for the game breeders, told AFP.

"This is simply a legal alternative to the current illegal killing of animals."

Some experts believe the real figures on poaching deaths are far higher as many carcasses are never recovered.

South Africa is said to be home to around 20,000 rhinos, some 80 percent of the worldwide population.
Source: AFP

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

GMT 09:00 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Hong Kong engulfed in smog

GMT 06:52 2018 Friday ,19 January

Six dead as huge storms batter Europe

GMT 07:02 2018 Thursday ,18 January

China says Iranian oil tanker wreck located

GMT 07:46 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

Philippines' Mayon volcano alert raised

GMT 08:14 2018 Sunday ,14 January

Fossil fuels blown away by wind

GMT 10:36 2018 Friday ,12 January

Race to save Indonesian croc stricken

GMT 08:07 2018 Wednesday ,10 January

Philippines to protest over China activity

GMT 08:56 2018 Tuesday ,09 January

Bacteria makes blue jeans green
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

1175 rhinos killed by poachers 1175 rhinos killed by poachers

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 09:46 2017 Sunday ,27 August

Norway fines tourist guide for scaring polar bear

GMT 07:33 2018 Monday ,08 January

CIA chief denies agency role in Iran unrest

GMT 08:55 2017 Tuesday ,15 August

Shares of Fiat Chrysler surge

GMT 00:09 2017 Friday ,27 October

Alphabet quarterly profit climbs

GMT 09:53 2017 Saturday ,08 April

Mexico inflation hits new seven-year high

GMT 18:28 2012 Friday ,09 March

All balanchine

GMT 07:09 2015 Friday ,11 December

Syria government scrapes barrel

GMT 15:57 2017 Tuesday ,24 October

2018 Olympic torch ceremony hit by poor weather

GMT 03:22 2017 Wednesday ,02 August

At least 29 killed in Afghan Shiite mosque attack
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle