Renowned and well-respected South African wildlife veterinarian Dr Dave Cooper has taken to social media to share his exasperation with the country’s rampant rhino poaching – and to call the government and resident South Africans to arms. Cooper is involved in various organisations, including Rhinos Without Borders, African Wildlife Vets (which he co-founded) and he works full time with Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife.

Here follows an abstract of his statement on Facebook.

Last Tuesday was possibly the worst day yet of my 40 years as a veterinarian, the last 27 of which have been working with African wildlife, especially rhino. And, considering what we’ve all had to deal with in recent years, that’s saying something. I came face to face with the ultimate in horrific, brutal cruelty – I dare not describe it in detail for fear of being shut down by Facebook, but believe me, it was shockingly awful!

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