CAIRO: The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has called on the global community to get involved in helping to protect the decreasing rhino population in Africa. The group said, in calling for activists to sign a petition to protect the endangered species, that African rhinos are on a “fast track to extinction.” In calling for the global campaign, AWF highlighted that in centuries past, hundreds of thousands of black and white rhinos roamed African lands, but today, “there are fewer than 25,000 of both species.” They said that poaching, which is up more than 3,000 percent since 2007, is the main culprit of the declining numbers. In South Africa last year, around 450 rhinos were killed. “Every day, two more rhinos are murdered for their horn, a coveted resource for poachers,” the AWF statement read. “We've brought rhinos back from the verge of extinction before. With your help, we can do it again,” it added. The African Wildlife Foundation and other groups working on the ground to fight back, but they need assistance to raise awareness of the rhino plight on an international level.
