Rhino Poachers Shot in South Africa

In the last week, there has been increased news coverage about rhino poaching, particularly in South Africa. The fact that rhinos are on the endangered species list is not news. Rhinos have been poached for their horns for decades. The news this week, however, is the death of poachers hunting for rhino horns in South Africa and Zimbabwe. With the number of rhinos killed increasing from in the double digits to over a thousand in the last decade, South African police and rangers are using drastic measures to protect the wild life and stem the illicit trade of Rhino horns, believed to cure cancer by many Asian cultures according to the BBC. In fact, according to traffic.org, the USAID Traffic Report, over 18,000 white rhinos and 1,700 black rhinos were killed by poachers last year in South Africa alone.

According to many accounts, the rhinos are left to one of two fates. They are either killed, their horns cut off, and their bodies left as worthless. The other animals, less lucky, are shot or tranquilized. While the animal is unconscious or impaired, the poachers cut off the horn for their profit and leave the animal, still alive. Most rhinos have become critically endangered, with wild populations only left in parts of Africa, especially South Africa.

While scientists look into ways of helping the rhinos who survive these attacks recover, there is still the issue of how the state deals with the poachers they catch. In the last week, rangers have leaned toward the extreme, shooting and killing suspected poachers before they could commit the crime, in action, or post crime. According to News24, these shootings are not unprovoked but in response to poachers first firing at the rangers in Zimbabwe. The rangers stated that the country is “stepping up” their protection of large game as attacks on the animals are continuing to increase.

While the illicit trade of ivory and rhino horns is not a new story, the increased poaching is creating new problems for the governments in African countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa. Now a new question has been raised. How far must the police and rangers go in order to protect these animals? Will poachers continue to hunt these rare and endangered species if they know their own lives are at risk? The South African rangers (like those pictured above) will continue to fight in what they consider the “war against poachers” (CBC world news)

Sources:

Evans, Margaret. “South Africa Faces Uphill Battle against Rhino Poaching.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/south-africa-faces-uphill-battle-against-rhino-poaching-1.3018216&gt;.

Hosea, Leana. “Poaching the Creature That’s More Valuable than Gold.” BBC News. 4 Apr. 2015. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32151983&gt;.

Milliken, Tim. “ILLEGAL TRADE IN IVORY AND RHINO HORN: AN ASSESSMENT TO IMPROVE LAW ENFORCEMENT UNDER THE WILDLIFE TRAPS PROJECT.” Traffic.org. 1 Dec. 2012. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://www.traffic.org/storage/W-TRAPS-Elephant-Rhino-report.pdf&gt;.

“Zim Rangers Shoot Dead Suspected Poachers Report.” News24. 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/Zim-rangers-shoot-dead-suspected-poachers-report-20150402-3&gt;.