Endangered black rhinos drugged, mutilated by poachers

[Barrett808]

Endangered black rhinos drugged, mutilated by poachers
By Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News

Illegal poaching has escalated to such a degree in Zimbabwe that some rhinos there are now under round-the-clock armed protection, Discovery News has learned from conservationists who are attempting to defeat poachers equipped with automatic machine guns and ammunition belts.

"We are losing rhinos at an alarming rate," Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said. "We have lost 15 this year alone." …

John Travers said last week that a released rhino named Cleopatra "was drugged" and "dehorned by literally scalping her...Cleopatra is now faceless."

"How cruel," Travers asked, "has man become?"

(more)

http://desdemonadespair.blogspot.com/2009/04/endangered-black-rhinos-drugged.html

[Tim01]

1. Unfortunately, rhino parts are like gold in a dirt poor country.

The ivory is like hitting the lottery.
Trophy hunting is the only thing I know of that actually has a chance of saving the rhinos. With trophy hunting the rhinos are very valuable alive. Without trophy hunting, there is not enough money to protect them.
MAYBE with enough publicity and world wide donations they may have a chance. But I doubt it.
Green hunts are becoming known.(They are very dangerous) Where the trophy hunter shoots the rhino with a tranquilizer dart, and while the rhino is passed out a veterinarian looks it over, records data, and the hunter gets his picture taken. But the hunter still pays a trophy fee in the range of $10,000 or more. And the rhino lives. Besides the trophy fee there are tons of other ways the hunting party pumps money into the local economy.
It is all about money.

[Nihil]

2. K & R for another sickening story

Poachers should be executed.

:mad:

(And a pre-emptive "Fuck you!" to anyone who stands up for them.)

[stuntcat]

3. Shame.

Humans are RAPING the entire world.
ALL the animals- we'll even torture them to death, we just cannot be stopped.
EVERY beautiful place- we will tear it down.

This is the same kinda thing as the Americans lawfully blowing up mountain ridges in the Appalachians for a few days of coal. Only these animals have souls, they can look us in the eye while we tear their world apart forever.