Community | March 21, 2010 | 4 comments

UN official: Zimbabwe security forces poached 200 rhinos

source: http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0214-hance_zimpoach.html

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julesrs007
Last week the secretary of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Willem Wijnstekers, announced that security forces in Zimbabwe had poached approximately 200 rhinos in a two year period. He did say how many elephants were poached by security forces.

The revelation means that Zimbabwe will have to explain the poaching to CITES or lose their ability to trade ivory.

The minister of Environment and Natural Resources Management, Francis Nehma, says that the nation needs vehicles and helicopters to control the troubled nation's widespread poaching problem. Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai (in a power-sharing agreement with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe) said that security forces involved in poaching must be brought before the law and punished.

Rhinos have almost vanished from Zimbabwe due to a poaching epidemic.

The Critically Endangered black rhino continues to be threatened by poachers across Africa. Approximately 4,000 survive in the wild.

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0214-hance_zimpoach.html
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    Community,   News and Politics,   Green,   Animal Videos and News,   3 more
  2. tags:
    Wildlife,  Extinction,  Poaching,  Illegal Wildlife Trade,  1 more
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4 comments // UN official: Zimbabwe security forces poached 200 rhinos

  • captainplanet71
    • +1
      captainplanet71  

    • Having spent considerable time in Zimbabwe, I can verify observer2121's comment below to some degree: "The problem is that these people are so poor and the Asians are willing to pay. Zimbabweans are not the consumers of Rhino horns or any other part of the rhino...".

      As conservationists and environmentalists, as people who want to protect endangered species, we need a framework that takes into account the social problems that create the conditions for the trade in endangered species. Simply put, we need to address poverty if we're going to save the rhinos.

    • 1 year ago
  • deezy_duck
  • observer2121
    • +1
      observer2121  

    • The problem is that these people are so poor and the Asians are willing to pay. Zimbabweans are not the consumers of Rhino horns or any other part of the rhino, it's people in Asia who want these animals for their sexual potions and health tonics.

    • 1 year ago
  • itoldyouso
    • 0
      itoldyouso  

    • at this rate they will be near extinction by the next 40 or so years these tragedies need to be dealt with immediately its fuckin insane

    • 1 year ago
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