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While voodoo may mean different things to different people, it means only one thing - death - to the animals used in voodoo rituals. Across Africa, at least 354 bird species are persecuted for rapidly growing international markets to supply wildlife for belief-based treatments in voodoo and related practices. In Bénin, West Africa, although ~50% of the population identifies as Christian, voodoo is recognized by the government as a national religion. Voodoo markets include both live animals offered for use in ritual sacrifice as well as animal carcasses and body parts.

An official from the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism will appear in the Mmabatho Magistrate’s Court on Monday 11 October after he was arrested in connection with illegal rhino horn trade. The official and the owner of a security company were arrested on Thursday afternoon in relation to alleged contraventions of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, the Rhino Norms and Standards, and contravention of permit conditions.

Currently going for about $3,300 (about R46 000) per pound, the global trade in ivory is worth about $23 billion annually, a reality made plain by the gruesome photos of butchered elephants that have become almost commonplace. In recent years, massive seizures of ivory seemed to signal a headlong rush toward extermination. In response, the EU this year proposed a near total ban on the trade of ivory anywhere in the bloc.