Conservationists sound alarm over Africa's rhinos

[March 25, 2011]  GENEVA (AP) -- A global network of conservationists says Africa's rhinos face their worst poaching crisis in decades with organized crime syndicates killing more than 800 in the past three years alone.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature said Friday poaching is on the rise in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya due to well-equipped and sophisticated crime gangs.

Rhinos are hunted as trophies and their horns sell like gold on the black market. Each pound can fetch tens of thousands of dollars in southeast Asia where the horns are thought to have medicinal value.

IUCN scientific officer Richard Emslie said the remaining 24,990 rhinos might decline in numbers "unless the rapid escalation in poaching in recent years can be halted."

[Associated Press]

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