Rhino poaching is not confined to South Africa; this Black Rhino was illegally killed in Zimbabwe Click image to enlarge © Zimbabwean anti-poaching unitJuly, 2011—Just over half way through 2011, and the level of rhinoceros poaching in South Africa shows no sign of diminishing.

Almost 200 rhinos were killed in South Africa during the first half of the year, according to statistics from the national parks department.

Unless the illegal killing is curtailed, 2011 looks set to surpass the record total of 333 rhinos poached in 2010 in South Africa, itself a large increase on the 122 poached there in 2009.

Criminal activities to meet the continuing demand for rhino horn are not just confined to Africa. Rhinos in Asia, particularly India and Nepal, have also been the target of poachers.

In Europe, there has been a spate of burglaries at museums where rhino parts are located, with the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom issuing a warning earlier this month advising “It is believed that organized criminal gangs are targeting premises after conducting research and hostile reconnaissance. They use a variety of methods to steal the objects including ‘smash and grab’ style thefts and overnight burglaries. They have been known to use force when challenged.”

Meanwhile enforcement activities against those behind the illicit trade continue. In May, two residents of Mozambique were sentenced to thirteen years after they were convicted of illegal rhino poaching in Zimbabwe, while in July media reported that 10 men were arrested in the country on suspicion of dealing in rhino horn.

In South Africa there have been a number of arrests, with media reporting the involvement of Asian nationals in sophisticated international criminal networks allegedly involved in human and wildlife trafficking.

Arrests have also been reported in India and Nepal and in Europe, where EUROPOL believe they have smashed an Irish gang trafficking in stolen rhino horns. In the US, two Irish nationals were sentenced to six months in prison for attempting to ship four rhino horns to Ireland.

The surge in demand for rhino horn in Asia—particularly Vietnam and China—appears to have been influenced, at least partly, by the claim by a high profile figure in Vietnam that using rhino horn had been effective against his cancer. However, there is no medicinal evidence that rhino horn, which is made of keratin, the same compound that comprises hair and nails, has any such medicinal properties.