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Thai Sex Workers Enlisted For Rhino-Hunting Scam

11:33 pm in endangered species, south africa, Travel & Nature by TreeHugger

rhino-horn-sex-workers.jpg Photo: Alien Ted / cc Threats against African rhinos have nearly always been despicable, but as authorities crack down on illegal exportation of the animals' horns, the latest methods to usurp the law are downright abhorrent. A former rhino horn dealer turned whistle-blower claims that an international wildlife trafficking syndicate employed strippers and prostitutes from Thailand to go to South Africa, participate in fake 'hunts', just to return with the rhino horns horns....Read the full story on TreeHugger

193 Rhinos Killed in South Africa So Far This Year

11:11 pm in animals, south africa, Travel & Nature by TreeHugger

rhino photo Photo: derekkeats / cc 2011 is shaping up to be one of the worst years on record for rhinos. Poachers in South Africa have already killed 193 of the animals in the first six months of this year alone -- that's according to conservation group WWF. This grim uptick in rhino killing puts 2011 on track to surmount last year's record poaching rate. And although over 100 have been arrested, convictions remain staggeringly few as the...Read the full story on TreeHugger