Rhinos will soon be extinct if poachers don't stop killing them

Rhinos will soon be extinct if poachers don't stop killing them By Damian Carrington, The Guardian, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.15.17 Word Count 672 The white rhino, pictured here, is sought after by poachers for its horn. Rhino horn currently sells for upwards of $65,000 per kilogram. Rhinos risk extinction if poaching continues unchecked, but experts remain hopeful that the situation can be reversed. Photo: Pixabay/Public Domain. Some say rhino horn is worth more than its weight in gold. Selling rhino horn is illegal, but it is still bought and sold around the world. Poaching has gone on in the wild for years. Hunters kill animals they are not allowed to hunt. Last week, though, someone broke into a zoo near Paris, France. There, during the night, they shot a rhino named Vince and cut off his horn. More than three rhinos are killed every day in their southern African homelands. Sales in Vietnam and China encourage poaching. As long as people want to buy rhino horn, poachers will continue to kill rhinos. This puts rhinos at risk of becoming extinct, or dying out. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

High Demand For Rhino Horn In Asia A myth about a Vietnamese person being cured of cancer made people want rhino horn. Prices also have gone up because some people use it as medicine in China. Other people make carvings from it. With the high prices, crime groups work together to get horn. The crime groups have been keeping ahead of police. The groups have shown they will go to great lengths, said Julian Rademeyer. He is an expert on rhino horn at Traffic, a group that monitors the wildlife trade. They are finding new ways to get what they want, he said. Rademeyer and wildlife groups will not give the price of rhino horn. They don't want to encourage more crime. It is known that rhino horn cost about $65,000 a kilogram (2.2 pounds) in 2012. Poaching Is The Worst In South Africa Authorities have been cracking down on poaching in parts of South Africa. It is home to more than half of all rhinos. However, killings have spiked in the countries of Namibia and Zimbabwe. Crime groups are taking advantage of weak law enforcement in those places. There have been warnings that zoos need to increase protection, Rademeyer said. Police are visiting zoos and wildlife parks in the United Kingdom that have rhinos. They are giving advice on protecting the animals. However, the center of the rhino trouble remains in southern Africa. Poor young men there are willing to risk their lives by poaching. They receive just a tiny fraction of the horns total value. Even a few hundred dollars is a huge sum to them, though. This may be what allows them to feed their families. Hundreds of poachers have been killed in the last seven years. Park rangers, soldiers and policemen have also died. Shooting Or Jailing Poachers Doesn't Solve The Problem Shooting and jailing the poachers is not the best idea, Rademeyer said. The crime groups use the poachers and don't care if they get killed or arrested, he said. "The kingpins who are making the big money are getting away with it. Rademeyer said police must work together against the horn trade. Crime groups work together around the world but the police work only in a certain place, he said. This makes it harder to catch the people responsible. Some people have wondered if raising rhinos on farms for their horns could stop the illegal sales. Many nations and groups oppose the idea. They think it would allow horns to be sold with fake permits. However, South Africa backs the idea. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

Legal Rhino Horn Trade Won't Happen Anytime Soon Duan Biggs works at Griffith University in Australia. He said a legal trade that protects rhinos is likely to work better than what goes on now. He accepts that some people might think it is wrong. Still, he thinks poaching a rhino in a zoo or in the wild is worse than sales that are allowed, he said. A legal rhino horn trade is unlikely anytime soon, though. Swaziland, a small country in Africa, brought up the idea at a wildlife trade meeting in September. It was not received well. Rademeyer is hopeful that the decline of rhinos can be reversed. He notes their comeback from the edge of extinction in the 1950s. We have beaten this before, he said. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3

Quiz 1 Which sentence from the article BEST explains why rhino poaching is worse in some countries than others? With the high prices, crime groups work together to get rhino horn. Crime groups are taking advantage of weak law enforcement in those places. The crime groups use the poachers and don't care if they get killed or arrested, he said. Crime groups work together around the world, but the police work only in a certain place, he said. 2 Based on the article, which of these statements is TRUE? Groups have argued about a plan to sell rhino horn legally. The demand for rhino horn has decreased in recent years. This is the first time in history rhinos have faced extinction. Poachers make more money than big crime groups from rhino horns. 3 Which two of the following are MAIN ideas of the article? 1. A rhino named Vince was killed at a zoo near Paris. 2. People are willing to pay a lot of money for rhino horn. 3. Poachers put rhinos at risk for extinction by killing them for their horns. 4. Wildlife groups will not say the price of rhino horn because they think more rhinos will be killed. 1 and 2 2 and 3 3 and 4 1 and 4 This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4

4 Which option summarizes the MAIN goal of Julian Rademeyer and the wildlife group Traffic? They want to convince people that rhino horn is not medicine. They want to promote the idea of shooting and jailing rhino poachers. They want to educate people and police to protect rhinos from extinction. They want to organize groups to stop rhino horns sold with fake permits. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5

Answer Key 1 Which sentence from the article BEST explains why rhino poaching is worse in some countries than others? With the high prices, crime groups work together to get rhino horn. Crime groups are taking advantage of weak law enforcement in those places. The crime groups use the poachers and don't care if they get killed or arrested, he said. Crime groups work together around the world, but the police work only in a certain place, he said. 2 Based on the article, which of these statements is TRUE? Groups have argued about a plan to sell rhino horn legally. The demand for rhino horn has decreased in recent years. This is the first time in history rhinos have faced extinction. Poachers make more money than big crime groups from rhino horns. 3 Which two of the following are MAIN ideas of the article? 1. A rhino named Vince was killed at a zoo near Paris. 2. People are willing to pay a lot of money for rhino horn. 3. Poachers put rhinos at risk for extinction by killing them for their horns. 4. Wildlife groups will not say the price of rhino horn because they think more rhinos will be killed. 1 and 2 2 and 3 3 and 4 1 and 4 This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6

4 Which option summarizes the MAIN goal of Julian Rademeyer and the wildlife group Traffic? They want to convince people that rhino horn is not medicine. They want to promote the idea of shooting and jailing rhino poachers. They want to educate people and police to protect rhinos from extinction. They want to organize groups to stop rhino horns sold with fake permits. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7