South African officials warned of rhino poaching in 2013 reaching a whole new record level if the situation is not handled right away.
During a conference in Thailand, South African officials stated that the year 2013 could create a new record in rhino poaching if the problem is not tackled right away. During the Cites conference in Bangkok, officials stated that 146 rhinos have already been killed for their horns in the first two months of this year itself.
The South Africans said that the prohibition on discussing the prospect of legalising the trade in the animals must be lifted. However, rhino welfare campaigners say the idea is flawed and dangerous for the species. Demand for rhino horns in Vietnam has risen and this is said to be one of the main reasons why poaching of rhinos has risen drastically this year.
Fundisile Mketeni from South Africa's environment ministry said that talks about calling for a lifting of the ban on selling rhino horns has not yet begun in the country but according to him, it's high time this topic is addressed.
"We must talk about it, because all other things are spoken about, but this is taboo - no-one wants to touch it," he said at the meeting. "We are saying we have tried everything. Let us start talking about this one. There is no decision made, but we can't talk about awareness or research or range expansion without talking about this one."
South African minister for water and environmental affairs, Edna Molewa, said that if nothing is done to tackle the current poaching situation and if killing of rhinos continues in the same manner, the number of deaths will outnumber the number of births by 2016.
"The indication is that if we do more of the same, the same work every day, more of the same will not help us produce a better result," she told the Bangkok gathering. "By 2016, we will begin to run into trouble, the graph will begin to slide down - we shall be losing more on a continuous basis."
