~ Black rhinos are near extinction. 245 were shot in 2012 alone.
On June 18th, Prince William came forward and lent his celebrity to shine light on the plight of the rhinos, which along with the elephants, are the most poached animals on the planet. Calling poachers and traffickers "extremely ignorant, selfish, and utterly wrong," Prince William demanded an end to an illegal trade that can yield as much as $60,000 per kilo of rhino horn.
Photo taken by Simon Taylor.
The Duke of Cambridge hits it right on the nose (no pun intended). Stupidity and greed are at the heart of this tragedy. On the demand side, this dirty trade is driven by some morons in Asia who think powdered rhino horn has healing powers. On the supply side, ruthless butchers in Africa are willing to kill rhinos to the point of extinction for money. The prince points to education as a solution.
~ 10 Essential Facts About Rhinos.
The use of powdered rhino horn as medicine goes all the way back to 300 BC in China (from the Asian rhino). It was, and still is, believed by some ignorant people that rhino horn is an aphrodisiac and can also treat headaches and fever as well as cure heart disease and some cancers. All utter hogwash. Rhino horn is made of keratin, the protein found in our hair and fingernails. Most likely, any claims of relief from the users are due to the placebo effect – and the more money that gullible fools pay for this "cure," the more they are likely to believe that it works.
~ Custom officials at Hong Kong seize rhino parts.
The vast majority of Asians have no inclination to ingest rhino horn even if they could afford it. And rhino horn trafficking is illegal in a number of Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Singapore, and China (however, enforcement is lax in many of them). But with the rapid economic growth rate of Asia (particularly of China), more and more rich idiots clinging to an ancient and destructive superstition are willing to pay under the table for this bogus medicine, pushing the survival of the rhino closer and closer to the precipice.
~ Poachers & traffickers are "ignorant, selfish, and utterly wrong..."
Updated (Feb 9, 2014): Father and son against poaching.
UPDATE: Polar Bears Are Starving To Death
(August 7, 2013) Read our latest polar bear update, click here.
UPDATE: Rhino Poacher Gets 30 Years In Jail
(September 5, 2013) A few days ago, Chumlong Lemtongthai was sentenced to 30 years in jail for rhino poaching in South Africa. The Thai national was actually sentenced to 40 years in November of 2012, but an appeal was expected by everybody since even the prosecution thought the judge's sentence was too harsh. Now, a quarter of his sentence has been reduced. The sentence is probably justified since Mr. Lemtongthai is considered a "leading figure" in international rhino poaching. More countries need to be tougher on poachers if they want to put a dent in this rising illegal trade.
~ A harsh sentence for a douchebag.
UPDATE: Prince William To Head New Wildlife Group
(September 12, 2013) After seven years in the armed forces, Prince William will now focus his efforts on his young family, his royal duties, and the conservation movement, click here. Under his Royal Foundation, the Duke of Cambridge will be the president of United For Wildlife, a consortium of seven of the world's most influential conservation groups: Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International, International Union for Conservation of Nature, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Wildlife Fund, and the Zoological Society of London. The initial task for the group is to curb the illegal wildlife trade, such as in the trafficking of rhino horns and ivory. www.UnitedForWildlife.com
~ United For Wildlife is comprised of 7 conservation organizations.
UPDATE: Lion/Tiger Hybrid Breaks Guinness Record
(September 18, 2013) Read our latest update about animals that break world records, click here.
UPDATE: "Let The Panda Die Out": Wildlife Expert
(November 4, 2013) Read our latest article on endangered species, click here.
UPDATE: Western Black Rhino Declared Extinct
(November 6, 2013) The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has officially declared the extinction of the Western black rhino. The Western black rhino was one of four subspecies of black rhinoceros. Currently, there are only 4,000 black rhinos left in the world. Click here.
UPDATE: Corey Knowlton Pays $$$ To Kill Black Rhino
(January 17, 2014) Corey Knowlton paid $350,000 to the Dallas Sierra Club for a Namibian permit to kill a black rhino. His argument for killing an endangered species has been used by hunters for decades: the weak has to be rooted out. But he failed to mention that man has destroyed the eco-systems of Africa, where natural predators have disappeared because of Climate Change, poaching, and habitat destruction. It is a bad idea to send such a callous and mixed message to the public that would trivialize and undermined conservation efforts that took decades to build.
National Geographic: Black Rhino Hunt Auction Won’t Help Conservation, click here.
~ This hunter is being hunted himself.
UPDATE: Shark Fin Sales Drop Up To 70% In China
(September 11, 2014) Read our article about the plight of sharks and the shark fin trade, click here.
For related articles in the Frog Blog:
- Shark Fin Sales Drop Up To 70% In China Click here.
- Asian Carps: Barbarians At The Gate! Click here.
- "Let The Panda Die Out": Wildlife Expert Click here.
- Escaped Python Kills Two Boys Click here.
- Film: Blackfish Exposes SeaWorld Cruelty Click here.
- Bluefin Tuna Sold For $1.7 Million! Click here.
- Justin Bieber Attacked Over His Monkey Click here.
- Moron Lets Infant Play With A Gorilla Click here.
- Exotic Animals To Return To Zanesville! Click here.
- Bluefin Tuna Sold For A Record $736,000 Click here.
- 50 Exotic/Rare Animals Killed In Ohio Click here.
