First Place
Brent Stirton
Getty Images
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
"RHINO WARS"
Accused Rhino farmer Dawie Groenewald, his wife and 11 hunter and vet employees attend a hearing on their case in the Messina Magistrates Court, South Africa, 11 April 2011. Groenwald is accused of transgressing the Endangered Species act after a large number of unaccounted for Rhino carcasses were found on his property, a game ranch and hunting facility in Messina in far North East South Africa. South Africa has lost more than 400 Rhino to poaching in 2011 and an untold number through legal hunting and a loophole in the hunting legal system which allows for unlimited White Rhino hunts at the rate of one per hunter. The horn trade is now so ferocious authorities fear extinction for Rhino within the next 10 to 15 years. Traffickers are gambling on this, with organized crime now firmly behind the trade. |