More than 1300 rhinos poached in Africa in 2015
The slaughter of rhinos for their horns has increased for the sixth year in a row, according to new figures from international researchers.
More than 1 300 rhinos were poached in Africa last year, a record since 2008 when South Africa banned trade in rhino horns, leading conservation body IUCN said on Wednesday.
“The number of African rhinos killed by poachers has increased for the sixth year in a row with at least 1 338 rhinos killed by poachers across Africa in 2015,” the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said in a statement.
“This is the highest level since the current crisis began to emerge in 2008,” the Switzerland-based body said.
In January this year, South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs said that for the first time since 2008, the number of poached rhino had dropped and that 1175 rhinos were poached in 2015. That means almost all of the rhinos poached on the continent are poached in South Africa.
Those numbers are hardly a surprise, though, considering that researchers believe almost 80 percent of the world’s rhino population lives in South Africa.
IUCN Director General Inger Andersen said despite stepped up surveillance by field rangers risking their lives daily there had been “alarming increases in poaching over the past year in other vitally important range states, such as Namibia and Zimbabwe” both of which adjoin South Africa.
