Poaching Essay

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DIFFERENT TYPES OF RHINO POACHING: SUBSISTENCE POACHING This type of poaching, when it comes to rhinos, is a thing of the past. Subsistence poachers - usually from poor communities surrounding a reserve - snare or hunt wildlife for food and/or use in local traditional medicine. Rhino poaching encountered pre 2007/2008 was conducted on a much smaller scale and most probably involved subsistence poachers. Nowadays rhino poaching is far more organised, although there have still been instances of rhino caught in snares and killed with spears, or chased off cliffs using dogs. STRUCTURED POACHING / COMMERCIAL POACHING Responsible for the majority of incidents, these groups are well organised and usually have an ex-military background. It has been noted that criminals usually involved in high risk criminal activities like ATM bombings are now becoming involved in "lower risk/higher reward" rhino-related crime. Poaching groups are highly mobile and some groups operate across a number of provinces. Gangs consist of 4 to 6 individuals who are well armed and have good means of communicating. They will infiltrate the local community and ask for information on the whereabouts of rhino in an area, stake out rhino farms (ensuring at least two escape routes, familiarizing themselves with security structures and the movement of personnel) and plan their kills. In the case of experienced shooters shot placement will be accurate, otherwise shots include random fire to the head and chest region, and an anchoring shot in the knee is often fired to keep the animal from being able to run away. Sometimes an Achilles tendon is severed or the spine is chopped. Horns are usually removed very roughly with an axe or panga. Poaching groups dominate the late afternoons and night and take advantage of favourable moon phases (full moon). Pick-ups are well organised and may include

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