Barbarism at its peak! Rhino shot dead at Paris preserve, poachers saw off its horn

New Delhi: In what could be termed as an act of brutality, a rhino was shot at and one of its horns was sawed off by poachers at a wildlife preserve in Paris resulting in its death.

The poachers broke into the Thoiry Zoo forcing an outer gate and several doors open before shooting and killing the rhino, the preserve said in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday.

"They shot dead Vince, a 4-year-old male, to cut one of its horns, probably with a chainsaw," it said.

The statement said: "Its second horn was partially cut, which left the impression that the criminals were disturbed or that their equipment was defective."

The Thoiry complex includes a zoo and a drive-through wildlife preserve, where rhinos live in a fenced enclosure. Two other rhinos, named Gracie and Bruno, were unharmed, CNN reported.

"The whole staff is extremely shocked following the Monday night killing," the preserve said.

Vince was a part of the Southern white rhino subspecies, and because they are considered extremely endangered, reproduction and conservation in zoos is essential.

All five rhino species are on the endangered list and are often the victims of poaching because some people believe their horns have medicinal properties. 

In 2015, one kg of rhino horns was sold on the black market for 51,000 euros.

Illegal wildlife trading is one of the largest menace in the world, after drugs, counterfeiting, and human trafficking.

(With IANS inputs)