Statement from the park: Translated
In the night of Monday, 6 March, to Tuesday, 7 March 2017 of the perps broke into in the field of thoiry despite the security measures put in place and killed one of the three white rhino in order to seize the One of his horns. The whole staff is extremely shocked. A survey of gendarmerie investigation in the early hours of the morning. The direction of the domaine de thoiry's gonna file a complaint.
The facts
The wrongdoers entered the field of thoiry by forcing one of the external grilles near the African Plains. They are then directed towards the building of the white rhino which they forced the metal gate and have fractured a interior door intermediary. This enabled them to access the loges animals.
They then shot and killed Vince A YOUNG 4 year old male to cut one of his horns, probably with a chainsaw. His second horn has only been partially trench which leaves imagine that criminals have been disturbed or that their equipment turned out to be defective.
The other two white rhino living in thoiry, Gracie 37 years old and Bruno 5 years of age, have escaped the massacre and are safe and sound.
Vince was found this morning by his careful who, very attached to animals which she attends, is deeply affected. This heinous act was carried out despite the presence of five members of the zoological staff living on site and surveillance cameras.
The context
The Rhinoceros Horns are the subject of an illegal trade because they ready medicinal properties unfounded. In 2015 on the black market, 1 kg of rhinoceros horn was sold 51 000 euros. There are 5 species of rhinoceros and 11 sub-species, all threatened.
Vince was born at the end of 2012 at the burger ' Zoo of arnhem in the Netherlands. He arrived in March 2015 at the domaine de thoiry. He belongs to the sub-species Southern White Rhinoceros who, after having near extinction in the 19th century (only 20 to 25 animals in the wild), saw its numbers back up to achieve a little more 20 000 individuals, 18 of which 000 are located in South Africa. This is therefore a subspecies extremely threatened for which the reproduction and the conservation in zoos and in the field is essential. 250 Southern White Rhinoceros are currently being housed in zoos in Europe and are the subject of a programme of Breeding.
In recent years the poaching in South Africa has seen an increase exponentially. In 2007, 13 white rhino were killed, in 2011, 448 White Rhino, in 2014, 1 215 and in 2015, 1 175 White Rhino who were workers. On 21 February, the orphanage dedicated to thula thula rhino in South Africa was attacked. The team has been seriously molested and killed several young rhinoceros.
The flights of rhinoceros horns are also on the rise across Europe. It would be, however, the first time that a zoo is suffering an attack resulting in the death of a rhinoceros.
Very involved in the preservation of animals and their protection, the domaine de thoiry had already, in her own way, pulled the alarm in 2013 by organizing a conference on the trafficking of rhino horn. Different specialists of the rhinoceros and wildlife had participated, including the National Directorate of intelligence and customs investigations (dnred), the direction of nature and landscapes of the ministry of ecology, sustainable development and energy (Medea) , the brigade cites - capture of the office of the hunting and wildlife (Oncfs), the president of the African Rhino Specialist group of the international union for conservation of nature (Iucn), the responsible traffic for the world Wildlife Fund (WWF).
In France, a decree, published on 17 August 2016 in the official journal, prohibited "on all the national territory and at any time" the transport for commercial purposes, the hawking, commercial use, the sale, The sale or purchase of defenses and objects compounds in whole or in part d ' Ivoire of species of elephants or rhinoceros horn. This arrested for all species of elephants (in Africa and Asia) and rhinoceros (White, Black, Indian, Sumatra and java). Exceptions to this prohibition, however, are planned. These derogations concern the antiquities business (objects worked from before 1947), "currently free of cites documents, on a case-by-case", said the ministry of the environment. The trade and the restoration of objects worked from after March 1947 and before 1 July 1975 are also possible, " subject to have obtained previously, on a case by case basis, the certificate intra-EU ( Cic) planned by regulation cites ".
The trafficking of wild species and their products is severely punished by the law in France.
The trafficking of wild species protected represents the 4th traffic in the world after that of drugs, counterfeiting and that of human beings.
