Asian countries are fueling the worst rise in illegal killing of elephants and rhinos in Africa, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) on Monday said in a report. Pointing much of the blame on China, Vietnam and Thailand, who view the horns and tusks of the animals as medical wonders, the WWF called on the international community to do more to end the destruction of two of Africa's most important species. The WWF said the three countries were responsible for increasing demand on the black market and that even government officials from the countries have been implicated in the illegal trade in animal products from Africa. Releasing a report rating countries' efforts at stopping the trade in endangered species, WWF said elephant poaching was “at crisis levels in central Africa while the survival of rhinos was under grave threat in South Africa.” Global efforts to stem the trade have been under way for years, but China, Thailand and Vietnam are continuing to allow black markets in various endangered species to continue by failing to adequately police key areas, according to WWF. It said Vietnam was one of the countries of most concern, giving it a worst-possible “red" score for failing to stem the trade in rhino horns as well as tiger parts. “It is time for Vietnam to face the fact that its illegal consumption of rhino horn is driving the widespread poaching of endangered rhinos in Africa," said WWF's Global Species Program Manager Elizabeth McLellan. “It must crack down on the illegal rhino horn trade." WWF said Vietnam was the top destination for rhino horns illegally imported from South Africa. It also said Vietnamese diplomats had been arrested or implicated in South Africa for trying to buy rhino horns. Earlier this month, 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.
