Fuck poachers, don't get me wrong, but fucking hell, I wish people had the same kind of energy when it came to billionaires, who are literally responsible for the deaths of millions of humans (by virtue of hoarding so many resources as well as creating and maintaining a system that relies on exploitation and suffering to benefit them and only them).
If only society cared about oppressed and marginalised people as much as it does about cute animals.
No it isn’t. The WWF is doing this and the result is a bunch of paramilitaries running around killing and raping random people. Not to mention, in Africa, many of the “anti poaching” organizations are run by ex-Rhodesian mercenaries/officers. Just some old white guys who are rich and want to feel powerful by killing black people with immunity and commanding other black people.
I did not expect so many upvoted poacher sympathizers in this thread. I am disappointed.
Poachers aren’t poor. They make assloads of money off their illegitimate trade. They have plenty of skills that could be put to profitable use elsewhere. They simply choose poaching because it is more profitable.
I mean, this is not really a solution. Poachers don't do what they do because they're greedy and hate animals, they do it because they're poor and have often no other choice but to risk their lives to make a living, and they are probably getting something like 10$ per rhino horn. This is a systematic problem perpetually reinforced by the actual people we should be shooting: the millionaires who hire the poachers. They are the ones destroying the environment, exploiting animals and people and reselling those same rhino horns for ridiculous amounts of money on the black market.
It is important to note here how well-indoctrinated the US and Europe are to "point the finger" and absolve responsibility...
We don't refer to stuff as "deforestation," we call it "urban planning" or "development."
We don't talk about "poaching," we just accept that farmers and the agriculture industry finds natural predators inconvenient, so we allow them to kill off coyotes, foxes, mountain lions, etc.
We have just as many people doing similar, but for some reason we're only taught to lose our minds over conservation elsewhere, in the places where the US intentionally destabilizes (with Europe) to keep prices low for us. After all, it's what our economies are built upon: ruin everywhere, so we can call ourselves the heroes for killing off indigenous folks to areas just for the crime of living and wanting things to feel fair.
How long do any of you idiots upvoting this think it'll be until these (so-called) "rangers" start selling rhino horn themselves? That is... if they haven't already and this is really just them clearing out the competition?
I know a well-connected resort liaison in South Africa. This is what happens on game reserves with predators/scavengers, nature has a way of cleaning up the evidence.