HARARE – Zimbabwe has lost 149 rhinos over the past three years to poaching resulting in a marked decline in the country's rhino population, conservation groups have said.

According to a report compiled by five animal welfare groups including Africa Rhino Specialist Group, Asia Rhino Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, TRAFFIC and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) South Africa has lost 152 rhinos and Kenya 16 over the same period.

"The seriousness of the current situation in Zimbabwe is again evident in the fact that losses since 2006 represent 26 percent of the living rhino population," the groups’ latest report said.

The report said that estimates indicate Zimbabwe's rhino population has declined by 14.7 percent since the end of 2007, with the bulk of "the decline affecting black rhino (546 to 432)”.

Last week the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organisation IUCN and its partners named Zimbabwe and South Africa – two of four countries in the world that still have significant rhino populations – as the “epicentre” of poaching of the endangered rhino in Southern Africa.

The other two countries, all in Africa, are Kenya and Namibia.

According to the IUCN most rhino horns leaving southern Africa are destined for medicinal markets in southeast and east Asia, especially Vietnam, and also China.

"Currently, most rhino horns leaving southern Africa are destined for end-use markets in southeast Asia, especially Vietnam and China.”

Zimbabwe has banned hunting with the country’s wildlife authorities, who have found it hard to contain poaching in national parks especially after landless villagers began invading – with the government’s tacit approval – white-owned farms in 2000, saying they want to verify all hunting permits.

There have also been widespread reports of illegal and uncontrolled trophy hunting on former white-owned conservancies now controlled by powerful politicians from President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party.

The government however denies that politicians are illegally hunting game and insists it still has poaching under control. – ZimOnline