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In recent years, succulent collecting has become a treasured pastime. These low-maintenance plants bring a lot of joy and camaraderie to those who collect, propagate, and share their passion. However, there’s a dark side to this seemingly harmless hobby. Illegal succulent poaching has become pervasive with the rise in succulent popularity. In this article, we’ll talk about the dark side of plant collecting, how plant poaching is changing legal and ecological landscapes, and how to be a conscientious and ethical collector.

The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached a record high in 2022 after 87 animals were killed compared to 45 in 2021, official government data showed on Monday. Africa's rhino population has been decimated over the decades to feed demand for rhino horn, which, despite being made of the same stuff as rhino hair and fingernails, is prized in East Asia as jewellery and fake medicine. The horns are worth tens of thousands of dollars in illegal Asian markets. The ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said poachers…

Extinction is probably a rarely used term in your vocabulary - perhaps only in primary school when referring to the dinosaurs - and certainly never applied to the modern day. But subtly, slowly our rare fauna are being erased and some have even already disappeared: although not as drastic as a meteor, we are witnessing extinction. The act of poaching is defined as the illegal capturing or killing of wild animals and is a prominent practice in South Africa, particularly due to the wildlife that can be found there.

Strides made with hefty sentences and fines for criminals endangering game rangers and animals. When Jimmy Mashopane of Winterveld, north of Pretoria, was arrested for shooting, killing and mutilating nine white rhino in a Free State game reserve, taking 14 horns estimated at more than R500,000, veteran prosecutor Antoinette Ferreira threw the book at him. That one of the rhino was a month away from giving birth "only enhances one's sense of abomination", judge Phillip Loubser said.

Two more poachers, caught on South African soil, were sentenced today after they killed an elephant in November 2018 in the Skukuza National Park.

Tragically another white rhino cow and her calf were killed in South Africa over the weekend for their horns, but fortunately two rhino poaching suspects have been caught thanks to an incredible amount of team work.