South Africa Rhino poachers get 25 years
National Geographic/Jodi Cobb
Three citizens of Mozambique have each been sentenced to 25 years in prison for poaching rhinos in South Africa's famous Kruger National Park. Ismael Baloyi, Aselmo Baloyi and Jawaki Nkuna were found guilty by the court on four charges that included illegal hunting of a rhino and possession of a prohibited firearm. At the time of their capture in July 2010, they were in possession of an assault rifle, a hunting rifle, an axe and two freshly severed rhino horns. A fourth suspect died in custody last year in circumstances that suggest a failed escape attempt.
David Mabunda, the head of SANParks, remarked that the sentences were of greater severity than as has previously been the case. "This is an indication that, as a country, we are taking more stringent measures in the fight against rhino poaching," said Mr Mabunda. Kruger National Park has recently announced that it will be recruiting another 150 armed Park Rangers to combat poaching in the Park, bringing their total complement to 600. Mr Mabunda also confirmed that 232 poachers were arrested last year, and 26 were killed in firefights with the Rangers.
The illicit trade in rhino horn is a multi-billion dollar global industry and large syndicates export the rhino horn from Africa to China, Vietnam and the Middle East. Poachers routinely cross the Mozambique/South Africa border to gain access to Kruger National Park, although a fence is being built to attempt to interdict this.
The South African government has commissioned a study to investigate if legalising the trade in rhino horn could help efforts to curtail poaching. South Africa has been particularly heavily affected by the trade because it has the world's largest population of rhinos. At last count, South Africa had 1,916 black rhinos and 18,780 white rhinos. The price of rhino horn is now approximately £35,000 ($55,000) per kilogramme, which is equivalent to the price of a similar weight of gold. Poachers commonly tranquillize the rhino, remove the horn with a chainsaw, and leave the animal to bleed to death.
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