CAIRO: A new report published by the global wildlife monitoring network TRAFFIC has revealed that more than 500 rhinos could be killed this year if action to end the illegal trade in rhino horns is not stemmed by governments in Africa and Asia. The network argued that already this year through July, some 281 rhinos had been poached and “predicted [the] loss of 515 by year's end if current poaching rates continue.” South Africa is to be the hardest hit, the report said. With some 20,000 white rhinos and 4,800 endangered black rhinos, the country has seen an upsurge in organized rhino-related poaching in recent years. In 2011, some 448 rhinos were killed by poachers. This is a stark increase from 2007 numbers of only 13 rhinos killed. TRAFFIC praised South Africa's efforts to battle poaching and the illicit trade in rhino horns, but called for more efforts to be implemented in order to end the destruction of rhinos in Africa. “It seems this year that efforts are begining to pay off. We have seen a great increase in arrests. We are also beginning to see some significant sentencing,” said Jo Shaw, co-author of the report. She warned that even with the success stories of high-value arrests, criminal groups in the continent appeared to be better equipped and well-funded. “As anti-poaching security levels are stepped up, the poaching gangs become more aggressive and increasingly sophisticated,” she said. TRAFFIC singled out Vietnam as the country largely fueling the illegal poaching and trade in rhino horns. The Southeast Asian country believes that rhino horns have healing powers and many Vietnamese purchase on the black market the horns, which are ground into a dust, in order to “heal themselves.” Activists in Vietnam told Bikyamasr.com that they are working with the government on a public awareness campaign to attempt to dispel the myth of medical efficacy of rhino horns, but say it is an “uphill battle.” “The bottom line is that we are not close to ending this crisis yet, we are probably going to get record numbers this year,” warned the report's co-author Tom Milliken, who is also an expert on rhinos at TRAFFIC.
