WWF reports highest number of poached rhinos in South Africa
November 4, 2011
While hunting rhinos in South Africa is perfectly legal with the proper permits, many poachers are illegally taking the lives of these creatures. The BBC reports that prior to 2005, an average of 36 rhinos were poached annually. In 2010 that number reached 333, and already this year 341 rhinos have been found dead with their horns missing.
Animal lovers may want to place calls to South Africa to discuss the issue with their friends and find out what they can do to help support the protection of the endangered beasts. There are currently only about 1,900 black rhinos and nearly 18,800 white rhinos living in South Africa - many subspecies of which are endangered, according to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF).
The nation has a strict exportation policy concerning rhinoceros horns - they can only be exported as hunting trophies - but the WWF is calling for stricter enforcement of this legislation as well as the regulation of hunting permits, the news source reports. Illegal sales of rhino horns need to be stopped in order to preserve the lives of the rhinos. Already, the Javan rhino population in Vietnam has gone extinct thanks to poachers, and if nothing is done to curb hunters the same thing could happen in South Africa.
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