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Rhino poaching across Africa has risen sharply in the past few years, threatening to reverse hard-won population increases achieved by conservation authorities during the 20th century. The spike in poaching throughout Africa and South Asia has been caused largely by increased demand for horn in Vietnam for purported medicinal products. Law enforcement efforts are increasing but it is difficult to protect rhinos from poachers who are highly organized and using very sophisticated methods. South Africa has been the focal point of poaching because it has the largest population of rhinos in the world. Law enforcement efforts there have increased, resulting in more arrests with some of those convicted being sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
