Three Mozambicans convicted of attempted rhino poaching in South Africa

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Three Mozambicans convicted of attempted rhino poaching in South Africa

5:11 CAT | 18 Sep 2017

Three Mozambicans have been sentenced by South African courts to 10 years in prison for entering a nature reserve with firearms allegedly to poach rhinoceroses, the Mozambican government announced yesterday in a statement.

The men, aged between 25 and 35, were convicted on Wednesday “after illegally entering Kruger National Park”, South Africa’s largest wildlife reserve.

They were caught “in possession of firearms and ammunition with the intention of illegally killing rhinoceroses to obtain their horns,” the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) document adds.

The three crossed from Mozambique to South Africa over the Mapulanguene border, known as “a den of poachers and poaching masterminds,” it adds.

There are about 20,000 rhinos in South Africa, about 80% of the world’s population, but poaching has hit record highs in recent years, with more than 7,100 killed in the last decade.

A kilogram of rhinoceros horn can fetch US$60,000 dollars (about EUR 50,000) on the black market, and is mainly sought after by the Chinese, but its alleged therapeutic benefits have never been scientifically proven.

Source: Lusa