Rhinos killed and staff assaulted at rhino orphanage in KZN
The rhino were due to hae their horns removed to protect them from poachers.
At least five poachers attacked the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage in KwaZulu Natal, assaulting staff members and killing to rhino calves this week.
The armed men managed to get past a security system and held staff hostage for several hours. The rhinos had their horns removed. One of the rhino, Gugu, died instantly. The other, Impi, survived but had to be put down the next day to the extent of the injuries.
The two rhino were just a few days away from progressing to the next phase of their rehabilitation, the next step before being released back into the wild. They were also scheduled to have their horns removed next week, in order to protect them from poachers.
Arrests have been made, but the investigation is ongoing.
Karen Trendler, who runs the orphanage, said she was disturbed by what had happened.
“Is this another stage? That’s what we’ve been asking,” Thula Thula’s Karen Trendler told journalist Bonné de Bod in a Facebook Live video. “There has been an increasing desensitisation, there has been an escalation in the violence in the poaching and the mutilation.”
The International Fund for Animal Welfare condemned the attack saying countries need to “work together” and as long as there is a “market for rhino horn” these incidents will continue to happen.
