Zoos increase rhino security
Zoos all over Europe are ramping up their security following the killing of a rare white rhino at a safari park in Thoiry, just west of Paris.
The rhino, called Vince, was shot three times in the head by poachers on the night of March 6-7 and his larger horn was cut off with a chainsaw. The smaller one was partially cut but left behind. “The keeper who found him is completely traumatised,” said Colomba de La Panouse, the park’s director. “It’s so shocking, so horrific. We never, ever imagined this could happen.”
Safari parks from Le Zoo de Cerza in Normandy to Sigean in Occitanie have reacted with horror. This was the first time a living rhino has been poached in Europe.
Rhinoceros horn is widely used in Chinese medicine and is wrongly considered to cure anything from hallucinations to gout as well as supposedly boosting potency. Persistent belief in these false claims has raised the price for rhinoceros horn to around €40,000 per kilo, putting this endangered species at further risk of harm.
Measures to protect rhinos in safari parks include electric fences, enclosed night-time accommodation, webcams, and movement-sensitive alarms. Other methods are now being considered, such as night guards and genetic marking to track illegally-traded horns.
Some parks are also considering de-horning their rhinos. Widely used in Africa, it is no more painful than trimming a human’s nails. In the wild, female rhinos use their horns to protect their young, and male rhinos use them to compete for females, but in zoos neither of these behaviours is needed, and the horns grow back.
“It’s a shame because they lose some of their magnificence, but if it saves their lives, it’s worth it,” said Ms de La Panouse.
An inquiry by the Versailles Prosecutor’s Office is under way but the thieves are still at large.
