Rhinoceros shot, killed for horn at French wildlife park

The brazen murder of Vince, whom park director Thierry Duguet described as one of the zoo’s most popular attractions, raises the disturbing prospect that poachers are now shifting their attention to animal parks as untapped killing grounds as opposed to the wild.

Rhino poaching has been an uncontrollable problem on African soil for the last decade.

A police spokesperson told The Guardian that it was possible they had meant to kill all three animals and ran out of time.

In other disturbing news, armed poachers in February 2017 attacked the staff of the Thula Rhino Orphanage in South Africa and killed two baby rhinos for their horns.

The poachers entered the rear entrance to the zoo by forcing a grill.

White rhinoceros Bruno (right) and Gracie are seen in their enclosure at Thoiry zoo and wildlife park after fellow rhino Vince was killed in front of them.

Investigators estimate the stolen horn to be worth between 30,000 and 40,000 euros ($31,700 to $42,250) on the black market.

Authorities do not know if the killers were scared off or if their equipment failed. The intruders then forced open a second metal door and broke open “an intermediate inner door” that allowed them access to the animal lodges, the zoo said.

Vince was born in September 2012 at Burgers’ Zoo in the Netherlands, according to The Independent.

However, it’s prized in some Asian countries like Vietnam and China where many people believe rhino products have medicinal properties.

Twitter users were outraged that poachers would break into a zoo to kill a rhino. “They’ve woken up today and realized their world has changed if they have live rhinos in their collection”.

The NWCU warned in 2010 about the need for increased security for museums and zoos where there were exhibits of rhino horn.

Southern white rhinos like Vince were almost extinct in the late 19th century, according to the WWF.

Thoiry zoo is equipped with video surveillance, but cameras are not installed in the area where the rhinos live.

Although the sale and purchase of elephants’ tusks, rhinoceros’ horns and all articles made from them is outlawed in France in accordance with a decree of August 18, 2016, there are few exceptions relating to items produced before 1975, which are granted on case-by-case basis.

Global measures to curb wildlife crimes are also in place.