Horning in on poachers

I don’t ordinarily watch the PBS News Hour weekend edition, but a couple of weeks ago for some reason I had it on. And was stopped in my tracks by this report on efforts by Zimbabwe and South Africa to stem the rhino poaching that is annihilating the dwindling population of rhinos left in the wild.

There are some appalling images here of what the poachers do—because all they care about is getting the horn, which they sell into the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) market. So they hack horns off of still-living animals, and they kill mothers with calves; they are completely indifferent to anything except the money they can make.

It’s clear from this report that, up to now, the poachers have had the advantage; but there’s hope that the new cooperation between rangers in Zimbabwe and South Africa will turn this around. Frankly, it’s a little unsettling to see “park rangers” armed like paratroopers; but if it helps stop the poachers one way or another, then there it is.

TCM practitioners still use rhino horn powder to “cure” a variety of ailments, and it’s largely this complete load of bollocks that fuels the market for the horns. I find it hard to believe that sentient humans still literally buy into this massive lie, but it’s all too clear that their doing so is dooming these magnificent beasts.

So, watch the video and remember: the only one who needs a rhino horn is a rhinoceros. End of.