Thoiry Animal Park Rhino killed

However dramatic and deplorable this is, I must observe it is not the first zoo rhino killing by a criminal network clearly after rhino horn in illegal trade. A South African zoo had the illustrious "honour" of being the first to have encountered a major incident.

Whereas, I am not sure what the immediate response by the European zoo community should be, I am sure that rhino program managers have already looked at security issues prior to this incident. It is important now that EAZA and national zoo associatons work to now move forward swiftly into needed action mode on both a country-by-country basis and by formulating an Europe wide policy on international crime networks as these pertain to rhino horn and elephant Ivory trade inclusive of zoos and safety and security for their charges' and staff.

As for Thoiry: I do sincerely hope the police and law enforcement do take this incident very seriously and would operate in a similar approach when dealing with serious break-in and murder cases and will assemble all available physical evidence of the break in, including car tracks, foot prints, tissue samples, potential DNA and other human handling evidence ... to create a direct picture and framework of the criminals having perpetrated this heinous act.

FINALLY: I woul like to draw attention to the fact it is now high time that we all recognise this issue far transcends the zoo world having to confront this issue and it is a real and present societal threat with which we will have to start dealing with in a far more serious and more informed manner than is presently the cae. It is highly deplorable that worldwide so much is made of the (il-)legal drug trade, whereas little or not a lot of law enforcement capability let alone expertise exists to combat the (il-)legal wildlife and plant trade in a manner that befits the profits made from illegal dealings.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Most zoos (at least here in USA) have night guards, who canto hear.call police if they see something suspicious. Does Thoiry not have this? How could someone drive through a gate into a rhino pen and fire a rifle three times without being noticed?
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According to the report in the link I posted AD they have 5 members of staff living on site, how far from the rhino they don't say, while they could have had silencers on the gun I think the chainsaw should have been loud enoughto hear.
 
This is a very dark day in the zoo world. Every single zoo in the European Union and ESTA states is vulnerable to an attack by the same people. Zoos elsewhere can't be complacent, as this has shown it can be done. All holders of rhinos are going to have to immediately step up security measures. It's entirely possible this will mean 24/7 human presence, just as it does in parts of Africa.

Rhinos just became the hardest species to maintain in captivity.
 
That's terrible, you don't expect this kind of thing to happen in a place like France. I bet a lot of zoos are gonna up their security now.
 
There have been early suggestions the Irish gang network that was previously involved in museum rhino horn robberies is somehow "involved". How concrete their evidence is, I dare not say at this point.
 
May be a necessary step, but certainly not desirable to me as a visitor. A rhino horn is what makes the animal unique and I would have zero interest in photographing a hornless rhinoceros.
 
Arizona Docent said:
May be a necessary step, but certainly not desirable to me as a visitor. A rhino horn is what makes the animal unique and I would have zero interest in photographing a hornless rhinoceros.
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As the devil's advocate, I would say it's a good opportunity to educate visitors about rhino poaching and the methods use to prevent it.
 
What a nonsense. Remedies provide a better protection of the terrain, a strengthened guard service - which should actually be in each zoo of a self-understanding, as well as alarm systems at the animal houses. Even on the animal houses, where particularly valuable species are housed, some animal keepers should live on he grounds close to their animals. But it seems to be impossible for zoos to do something like this. Instead, they let them steal monkeys, parrots, birds of prey and penguins, and now kill rhinos instead of investing a little money in security ...Next, in Pairi Diaza, the elephants are removed from the tusks - they do not want to keep walruses in the future? Well, they scrubbing down their tusks in Europe anyway.
 
Arizona Docent said:
May be a necessary step, but certainly not desirable to me as a visitor. A rhino horn is what makes the animal unique and I would have zero interest in photographing a hornless rhinoceros.
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Why not- in europe you have to, if the zoos does only keeps Indian rhinos.Most Indian rhinos in Zoos do not have horns, because many zoos are not able to employ them adequately and equip the stables with wooden planks.....so they can srub down their horn regulary.
 
Bib Fortuna said:
What a nonsense. Remedies provide a better protection of the terrain, a strengthened guard service - which should actually be in each zoo of a self-understanding, as well as alarm systems at the animal houses. Even on the animal houses, where particularly valuable species are housed, some animal keepers should live on he grounds close to their animals. But it seems to be impossible for zoos to do something like this.
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I think asking keepers to act as security guards in response to the threat of armed intruders is a bit much.

I can remember that Howletts has signage by the black rhinos making it clear that security measures are in place (it understandably doesn't say what they are).
 
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