The zoo, a perfect hunting ground for poachers
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- published 15 April 2017 | modified 14 September 2024
A shocking, but not surprising accident was reported a few weeks ago. A rhinoceros at Thoiry Zoo (Château et parc de Thoiry) was shot and its horn was harvested by poachers with a chainsaw.
The market for rhino horn has reached an all-time high, driven primarily by markets in Vietnam and China. Horn is seen as a status symbol, and is used in traditional Asian medicine, despite the lack of evidence that proves its medicinal value. So rhino horn has reached twice the value of gold. Due to poaching the number of rhinos in the wild is plummeting globally. Protection of these species in the wild increases. Therefore the criminal networks behind the poaching activities found easier targets, already about six years ago. They began targeting rhino specimens in European museums, followed by living rhinos in zoos. In 2013 the police in Kent, United Kingdom, had an anonymous tip-off that the black rhinos of two zoos near Canterbury could be targeted by poachers. Fortunately, nothing happened. Perhaps because of the increased vigilance that was established by the Aspinall...
