BARBARA KLEIN: Twenty ten was also a record year for rhinoceros kills in South Africa, the world’s largest homeland for rhinos. Three hundred thirty three rhinos were lost to poachers during that time. The hunters cut off the rhino’s horn while a drug makes the animal unable to move. Many times the rhino is left to bleed to death. Or it never recovers from its drugged condition.
It is easy to understand why poachers want the horns. The International Rhino Foundation says the price of one is close to fifty seven thousand dollars a kilogram. Others place it much higher.
Lucy Boddam-Whetham works for the group Save the Rhino International. She is very concerned.
LUCY BODDAM-WHETHAM: “We are incredibly worried at the moment. We are actually facing the worst rhino poaching crisis for decades.”
A Hong Kong customs officer stands guard near seized rhino horns shipped from South Africa
Rhino poaching is not new. Rhino horns have been used for centuries in traditional human medicines. The horn has been thought to effectively treat high body temperatures and head pain. But recently, false reports have spread that rhino horn material can cure cancer. The reports are perhaps responsible for the huge increase in poaching.
MARIO RITTER: Tom Milliken studies international trade in wildlife products for the organization Traffic International. He says rhino horn cannot cure anything, let alone cancer.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25