Worldwide Conservation news

[infernalis]

A thread for those news stories we want to share...

Poacher shot dead in Kruger | News24 (http://www.news24.com/Green/News/Poacher-shot-dead-in-Kruger-park-20130127#.UQbbeNqNIig.facebook)

Score one for the Rhinos.

[Bloedig]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRyfa7a2eUp5UtzuE7poi97L5nyokZAZ hImcvQ5zGpcCJxD50DAow

[ilovemypets1988]

haha awesome, thats what i call true justice

[Snakeman8]

rot in jail suckers! :)

[jarich]

South Africans take this very seriously as there is so much income from the tourist trade surrounding rhinos and the other large animals. As in this case, most of the poachers are from the surrounding countries where the economies are in shambles and unemployment is rampant. When you think that a single horn sells for $25,000-$50,000, its just too much for some to pass up; even when they know they are taking the real risk of being shot for it. There is evidence that gangs from SE Asia actually are involved in instigating and funding these poachers. I think the real justice would be to find the men in Yemen who use rhino horn for their coming-of-age knife handles and separate them from their testicles. At least the boobs in SE Asia and China use it because they think its a medical cure, even though thats stupid and unfounded. Simple access to better medicines and education for them would be a solution. Take away the market, and the poachers have no reason to kill.

Having said that, I wonder how many ignorant decisions I make in my purchases lead to the death of an animal somewhere far away. For instance, I like quinoa. I just found out that because quinoa has become such a popular grain in the US and Europe now, land is being cleared for more and more of its production in Ecuador. Farmers are being pressured to stop growing other crops and grow only quinoa as they can sell it for so much more money. How many wild animals will lose their habitat and die because I like quinoa and think its healthier? People there who ate it as a staple grain can now barely afford it because farmers can make so much more from its export than selling it locally. Just a thought...