Botswana: Rise in rhino poaching raises alarm
The African nation of Botswana is sounding the alarm over increasing poaching activity targeting rhinos in its national parks.
«Rhino poachers appear to be turning their attention to Botswana now,» said the responsible national park coordinator Mmadi Reuben in Botswana.
According to Alice Mmolawa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, South Africa's neighbouring country has lost nine of the thick-skinned animals to poachers since April. «An unprecedented number», she emphasised. Authorities fear the figure will continue to rise. In previous years, there had been only one poached rhino (2016) or none at all (2017). In 2018, the number had already climbed to eight animals.
The difficult fight against poachers
According to the wildlife conservation organisation Rhino Conservation Botswana, the country is home to around 400 rhinos. The state has invested many resources in wildlife protection, with British Prince Harry having seen this for himself during his visit just the previous month. Rhinos from other countries had also been brought to Botswana due to its strict approach to combating poaching — the country had until now been considered safe, particularly for the critically endangered black rhinoceros.
The billion-dollar trade in rhino horn
The trade in rhino horn has been banned at the international level for around four decades. On the black market, however, primarily in China and Vietnam, customers reportedly pay up to 30’000 euros per kilogram. The horns are attributed with aphrodisiac and healing properties there. Yet they are made of keratin — the same material as human fingernails.
Africa is home to an estimated 25’000 rhinos, 20’000 of them — mostly white rhinos — in South Africa. Thanks to intensified anti-poaching efforts, the number of rhinos killed there in 2018 fell by a quarter compared to the previous year, to 769 animals.
