More than 150 rhinos have been killed in South Africa this year. This is almost double the figure released only a month ago, and almost half of the total number of rhinos killed in the entire of 2010, early on in the current poaching crisis. The rate of poaching incidents is rising at a rapid pace.
Cathy Dean, Director of Save the Rhino International comments:
We welcome the news that the South African government is considering reforms to the issuing of trophy hunting permits from countries that are unable to meet CITES’ requirements, and urge all African rhino range states to speed up prosecutions, increase sentences for rhino poaching and trafficking crimes, and to make more government funding available to tackle the poaching crisis.
Photo credit Mike Petchey