A Rhino poacher from South Africa has been jailed for 77 years, the highest sentence ever given for the crime.
Mandla Chauka, who was caught killing 3 baby rhinos, was captured at the world renown Kruger National Park in 2011. He was also convicted for rhino horn theft, illegal hunting, trespassing, and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition as well as the murder of his accomplice who was killed in shoot out with park rangers.
This is a huge triumph for the rhino and we warmly welcome this reward as it will provide the much needed boost to the anti poaching teams who endure harsh conditions for the protection of our parks,” said the Acting Chief Executive Officer of SANParks, Abe Sibiya.
Last year over 1004 Rhinos were killed in South Africa which is home to 70% of the world’s Rhinos, and there are fears that animal will soon become extinct.
When sold illegally, a rhino’s horn is worth around £56,500 per kilo, more than twice as much as gold.
We hope that this will be a deterrent” to other poachers, parks spokesman Reynold Thakhuli said.
Over the last few years several poachers have been sentenced to prison in an attempt to put a stop to the practice, which not only threatens the livelihood of the animal being poached but also damage the tourism industry.
In 2012 a Thai National was given 40 years in prison for selling rhino horns, and last year two men from Mozambique when sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for killing a rhino and taking its horn.
