Rhino Horns Worth £2m Stolen In South Africa

Thieves in South Africa have stolen 66 rhino horns worth some $2.75m (£1.8m) in one of the biggest horn heists the country has ever seen.

The horns were taken after the thieves broke into the safe of game farm owner Johan van Zyl who runs the Leshoka Thabang Game Reserve in northern Limpopo province.They reportedly used a blowtorch to open the safe where the horns were kept.

The owner had removed the horns from living rhinos at his reserve to protect the animals from poachers who supply them illegally to international crime syndicates.

South Africans hold a protest outside the Chinese embassy in Pretoria

Demand is high in the Far East and particularly in Vietnam, where the newly affluent middle class believes it has strong medicinal powers. The treatments have no basis in science but demand has pushed the price up to around £43,000 a kilo, making it more expensive than gold.

"In my hands it is worth nothing, but in the hands of the guys who have it now, the horns are worth a lot of money," said Mr van Zyl.

The reserve owner has permits for horn removal and storage.

South Africa allows for private storage of horns, which must be registered, but forbids almost all sales.

South Africa uses armed guards to protect its rhinos

The country is home to the vast majority of rhinos on the continent, with numbers estimated at about 21,000.

Last year, more than 660 rhinos in South Africa were killed by poachers - a record high - and more than 800 rhinos could be killed this year if poaching continues at its current rate.

Several game reserve owners have dehorned rhinos to make them less likely to be killed by poachers, while South Africa has deployed its army to protect the animals in national parks.

Rhino horn has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine, where it was ground into powder to treat a range of maladies including rheumatism, sexual dysfunction, gout and even possession by devils.

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