TWO DOWN, MANY TO GO

Rhino poaching still picking up with 309 dead rhinos this year

Jessica du Preez

Johannesburg

12 October 2011

Source: www.Google.com

A Mozambican man and a South African man were accused of killing and dehorning a female rhino on a private game reserve have appeared in front of a Limpopo court judge. Patrick Ndlovu, 21, and Inase Mkhabela, 32, were two of four suspects that were chanced when spotted sawing off her horn of a female rhino in Hoedspruit for the illegal rhino horn trade. They were also charged for the ownership of an unlicensed firearm.

On Friday morning at 9 am game rangers heard shots fired and went to investigate the noise. When the four men were apprehended they took off on foot. The game rangers took chase and caught two of the men. The men had a Hunting rifle, two projectiles, an axe and the fresh rhino horn. The two men were then arrested and held in a Limpopo police department.

 A total of 309 according to the department of environmental affairs rhinos have been killed and dehorned in 2011 thus far. In 2009 a total of 333 rhinos were killed and on average, a total of 2 rhinos are killed in South Africa every day.

Some game rangers say “If the government would just legalize the trading of rhino horn then there would be fewer deaths in both humans and rhinos”. Rhino horn traders could be shown how to safely remove the horns from the rhinos, thus keeping the rhinos alive in the process.

As a citizen you should be doing your part to stop this horrific onslaught that is happening every day. To do your part, go to www.stoprhinopoaching.com

                                                            Source: www.google.com