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Fashion trends push rhinos toward extinction
mongabay.com
June 6, 2007





The illegal trade in rhino horn, used for dubious medicines in Asia and traditional dagger handles in the Middle East, is driving some African rhino populations toward extinction, reports environmental group WWF and wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.

While rhino populations in some parts of Africa are increasing, poaching is accelerating in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where poverty and failed governments have conspired to put rhinos at high risk from poachers and criminal networks. WWF estimates that 60 percent of the rhino population in Democratic Republic of Congo was killed between 2003 and 2005. In Zimbabwe the figure was 13 percent for the same period.



Photo by Rhett A. Butler
"The situation in DRC and Zimbabwe is a particular concern," said Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC. "It tallies with an increase in the organization of criminal horn trading networks operating in Africa."

Meeting this week in The Hague, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has called for better collaboration between countries along smuggling routes to prevent horns from reaching the black market. WWF notes that such measures appear to be working in Swaziland and Namibia and that overall, rhino populations in Africa are increasing.

"This population increase is of course very encouraging," said Dr Sue Lieberman, Director of WWF's Global Species Programme. "But better law enforcement and protection measures are still needed for African rhinos, particularly in the DRC and Zimbabwe."

Related


Rhino horn nothing more than keratin, calcium, and melanin confirms research
(11/6/2006) Rhinoceros horns have long been objects of mythological beliefs. Some cultures prize them for their supposed magical or medicinal qualities. Others have used them as dagger handles or good luck charms. But new research at Ohio University removes some of the mystique by explaining how the horn gets its distinctive curve and sharply pointed tip.


West African black rhino may be extinct
(7/17/2006) Recent surveys conducted by IUCN in northern Cameroon found no evidence of the West African black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes). The organization fears the sub-species is now extinct in the wild.

This article is based on a news release from WWF



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mongabay.com (June 06, 2007). Fashion trends push rhinos toward extinction. http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0605-rhinos.html


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Environmental Law poaching saving species from extinction animals wildlife mammals environment wildlife trafficking rhinos green

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