* Rhino horn more expensive than gold
* Newly affluent in Southeast Asia pushing up demand
* Arms race in national park as carnage mounts
By Jon Herskovitz
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 30 (Reuters) – A record number of
rhinos were poached this year in South Africa, home to the
greatest number of the animals, as rising demand in Asia for
their horns led to increased killings of the threatened species.
At least 443 rhinos have been killed in South Africa in
2011, up from 333 last year, the national park service and
conservationists said.
The street value of rhinoceros horns has soared to about
$65,000 a kilogram, making it more expensive than gold, platinum
and in many cases cocaine, as a belief – with no basis in
science – has taken hold in recent years in parts of Asia that
ingesting it can cure or prevent cancer.
South Africa, home to more than 20,000 rhinos, was losing
about 15 animals a year a decade ago. But poaching increased
dramatically from about 2007 as a growing affluent class in
places such as Vietnam and Thailand began spending more on rhino
horn for traditional medicine.
The number of rhinoceroses dying unnatural deaths in South
Africa, either through illegal poaching or legal hunts, has
reached a level likely to lead to population decline, according
to a study by Richard Emslie, an expert in the field.
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