S African rhino rustlers tackled using satellite horn implants Rhinos in South Africa have been fitted with tracker bugs implanted in their horns, in an attempt by game wardens to frustrate poachers. Powdered rhino horn is much in demand in the Far East, where it is considered an aid to a gentleman's boudoir prowess. The BBC reports that five rhinos residing in the Mafikeng Game Reserve …
Was going to say the same - QI has spoken!
That said, an episode of QI that suggests John Glenn was the first person to orbit the Earth (not just the first Merkin to) still gets regularly broadcast, poor old Gagarin and Titov apparently being overlooked, so I wouldn't treat everything that comes out of Stephen Fry's cakehole as gospel. Mind you, I don't take the gospels as gospel.
"Powdered rhino horn is much in demand in the Far East, where it is considered an aid to a gentleman's boudoir prowess."
It is in demand, but not for that. It is used in Chinese medicine for fevers and convulsions. It is also used in making the handles of traditional Arab daggers.
I found this information online in seconds.
Like the Bit Wrangler, I was going to mention the urban myth about the uses of rhino horn in eastern cultures...
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/07/rhino-horn-and-traditional-chinese-medicine-facts.html
"Ironically, it seems the only condition rhino horn is not prescribed for is a lagging libido."
I really couldn't care what some misguided twat is purchasing the powdered horn for.
I do think it was a little sloppy to omit the important and rather sad background this development takes against though.
There has been a massive and alarming increase in rhino poaching in South Africa this year. According to the WWF there were 470 rhino poached across Africa between 2006 and 2009. 200 rhino were poached in South Africa to mid-October this year. The big anti-poaching success story of the year -the arrest of 11 people in late September - came with it's own distressing aspect: two of those arrested were vets.
As mnetioned in the title, I think it id far better to poison the horn. Ideally with something really evil and nasty, to make the suffering of the person taking it in really long and painful.
Having lived in southern Africa for many years, I despise those who kill this beautiful animal just because of its horn.
If there were plenty of them (flame war here I come....) like for instance elephants which occasionally have to be shot for population control (this depends on where this is done, as there are grave differences in the population sizes depending on the area)
what would even be better, would be a little explosive devise that goes of the moment the heartbeat of the animal can't be measured any more.
Well anything, that would eradicate these bastards who kill these animals for virtually nothing....
When I lived in souther Africa, it was really cool with poachers:
Usually no money was wasted on expensive trials, plenty where caught, but they rarely re-offended.... (if you get my drift)
this may sound rather radical, but I know that those of you who have lived in southern Africa, and know and understand the culture, will agree, this was the best solution.... and even today I am all for it.
Trials are way to long, thereby expensive, sentences are way too lenient, and highly ineffective.
I have lived in Saudi Arabia for about five years (many years back) and I am far from being a sharia-supporter, but over there the owner of a jewellery shop was able to leave his shop unlocked (open actually) and go of for a cup of tea or coffee for half an hour without being worries that his store was empty. I can't see this happening anywhere here....
If you were caught steeling, they would take off your hand....
I bought the Pacific regional maps for China and the errors were horrendous in some places.
When I was in Tibet the errors were bad yet at those heights and locales, where there were few buildings, the elevated height - closer to the satellites - should have been optimal.
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