On 21 September, the day before World Rhino Day, confiscated rhino horns were destroyed at the Dvùr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic, as part of an international campaign designed to highlight the plight of a species being driven towards extinction by poachers. This was the very first public destruction of confiscated rhino horns in Europe. Invited by the Czech Minister for the Environment, CITES Secretary-General John E. Scanlon attended the event. "This awareness exercise will not put an end to the illegal trade. However, the destruction sends a powerful public message that the Czech Republic does not accept and will not tolerate this illegal trade or the devastating impact it is having on the rhino and on the livelihoods of local communities", said Mr Scanlon.

The recovery of the CITES-listed African black and white rhino populations in the wild over the past few decades, after being hunted close to extinction, is a great conservation success story – and for the first seven years of this century poaching levels had remained low at around ten a year. After 2007, however, a sharp upward trend in poaching started to emerge – a trend that has continued to the point where over 1,000 rhinos were illegally killed for their horn in South Africa alone in 2013 and over 700 killed so far this year. These disturbing trends cannot be sustained and if they are not stopped this magnificent animal will become extinct in the wild across its range in our lifetimes.

In his concluding remarks, CITES Secretary-General said: “Strong enforcement action is being taken in the Czech Republic, including the apprehension of 16 suspects in July 2013, of recruited hunters, recruiters from crime groups and their assistants, which is also most encouraging. Giving publicity to such decisive actions sends a clear message to those who trade illegally in rhino horn that they face an ever-increasing risk of detection, prosecution and conviction leading to imprisonment, heavy fines, and seized assets for their illicit activities.”

More information: juan.vasquez@cites.org