Czech zoo chops off rhinos’ horns to deter poachers
Geography is not the Independent’s strongest suit. It tells readers today about a zoo in the Czech Republic, a country I know well. The paper says a “Prague Zoo” has been lopping off rhinos’ horns to deter poachers. The thieves sell the keratin horns to buyers in the Far East, where they are prized for
Earlier this month, poachers shot dead Vince, a 4-year-old male white rhino at France’s Thoiry Zoological Park, and removed his horn with a chainsaw.
“It’s an incredibly shocking and distressing occurrence,” said Crawford Allan, of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “It’s also a game-changer for zoos. They’ve woken up today and realized their world has changed if they have live rhinos in their collection.” The Zoo called was understandably shocked. “Vince was found this morning by [his] caretaker, who is very attached to the animals she cares for, and is deeply affected,” the zoo stared on Facebook. “This odious act was perpetrated despite the presence of five members of the zoological staff living on the spot and surveillance cameras.”
So valued is rhino horn that people are willing to take great risk to get it. But back to the Indy, which is confusing readers and poachers by turning the Prague zoo into a moving target. It then rehashes an AP newswire report:
Prague zoo cuts off rhinos’ horns to stop poachers… Přemysl Rabas, the director of the Dvur Kralove zoo, around 70 miles north-east of the country’s capital, Prague, said it was a tough decision, but their priority was the safety of the four southern white rhinos and 17 black ones – the largest group of its kind in Europe.
It’s actually just over 80 miles from Prague. There is a zoo in Prague. But there are no rhinos there.
Posted: 23rd, March 2017 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
