Make or break year for South Africa’s rhinos after poaching hits record high

Despite increased efforts to tackle the surge in rhino poaching, a record of 1215 rhinos were killed in South Africa in 2014 – highlighting the need for urgent international action to address the crisis ahead of a critical global meeting on illegal wildlife trade in Botswana in March. Figures released  by the South African government show that over 100 rhinos were illegally killed on average each month in 2014 – representing a 21% increase over the 1004 animals poached in 2013.

 “Killing on this scale shows how rhino poaching is being increasingly driven by organised criminal syndicates. The country’s brave rangers are doing all they can on the ground to protect rhinos but only a concerted global effort can stop this illegal trade. This includes South Africa scaling up its efforts to stop wildlife trafficking and Viet Nam taking urgent measures to stop illegal use of wildlife products including rhino horn,” said Elisabeth McLellan, WWF Head, Wildlife Crime Initiative.

Read more on: http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?237410/Make-or-break-year-for-South-Africas-rhinos-after-poaching-hits-record-high