Operation Rhino bags weapons and 49 suspected poachers
Poachers have killed “only” 165 rhinos so far this year – but this is 60 animals less than in the same period last year. Operation Rhino‚ a joint initiative involving the police‚ army and the national parks‚ resulted in the arrest of 49 suspected poachers in the Kruger National Park and Hluhluwe‚ KwaZulu-Natal‚ in April alone‚ the police said in a statement on Friday.Police also recovered and confiscated 17 rifles‚ five pistols‚ and 192 rounds of ammunition in the same period.“As much as [we are] encouraged by the figures so far‚ the aim for the police and its partners is to keep the situation under control‚ and to send a clear message to any would-be poachers that we mean business‚” said Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo.“On top of that the numbers of firearms recovered and suspects arrested have increased significantly.” Hope the rhino gets ground-breaking surgeryWATCH: Hope, a South African rhino, underwent ground-breaking surgery this week to save her life after poachers hacked off her horn and much of her face in the Eastern Cape last May. WARNING: Some of the following images are graphic in nature and might be disturbing to some viewers.Posted by Times LIVE on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 ..
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