JOHANNESBURG Feb 9 (Reuters) – A group of animal
conservationists in South Africa accidentally killed a
rhinoceros they were attempting to make safe from poachers in a
botched public relations event.
Spencer the rhino went into convulsions and died after he
was shot with a tranquiliser dart in front of a crush of TV
cameras and photographers who had been invited to document an
operation to insert a poison capsule into his horn.
Conservationists from the Rhino Rescue Project said sedating
rhinos with darts was a tricky business that sometimes went awry
and rejected suggestions that the poison capsule had caused
Spencer’s death.
“The rhino had an unfortunate reaction to the anaesthesia,”
Rhino Rescue Project spokeswoman Lorinda Hern said. “Every time
you dart a rhino, you take a risk that the rhino might not wake
up and unfortunately today was one of those days.”
Conservation groups insert poison capsules into the horns of
rhinos, which release poison into the horn when it is removed
from the animal and are meant to render the horn value-less for
hunters seeking to sell it on for use in traditional medicine.
Conservation groups have inserted poison into the horns of
rhinos or removed their horns in an effort to deter poachers.
Both procedures require rhinos to be sedated.
A record 448 rhinos were killed by poachers last year in
South Africa, home to the greatest number of the animals. Rising
demand in Asia for their horns has led to an increase in illegal
hunting.
A decade ago South Africa, with more than 20,000 rhinos, was
losing about 15 animals a year to poachers. But poaching has
increased dramatically since about 2007 as the spread of wealth
in places like Vietnam and Thailand has enabled more people to
buy rhino horn, which scientists say has no real medicinal uses.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Reuters Television, editing by
Paul Casciato)
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