The chaos that has become Zimbabwe continues unabated, and wildlife as well as humans are paying the price. Liberation war veterans, staunch supporters of freedom fighter turned dictator, Robert Mugabe, are now turning to rhino poaching as a means of making money. Veterans settled in Chiredzi District are poaching rhinos in a game reserve and selling the horn to South African dealers, according to informed sources at nearby communities. The rhinos are being poisoned with tainted cabbages left at watering holes. The poachers track the dying animals until they drop dead, and then remove the horn. A community spokesman said the water holes are also affected, and the poisoning is killing their cattle. The lawlessness has undermining decades of painstaking effort to increase rhino numbers in Zimbabwe. An estimated 200 rhinoceros have been killed in the last three years. Authorities believe the horn is going to South African middlemen who ship the illegal ivory to East Asia, notably South Vietnam and China where it is used in traditional medicine as a Viagra-like drug. Yemen was once a major market for horn because the handles of ceremonial daggers (jambiya) carried by men traditionally were made of horn. A religious fatwa issued by the grand mufti said the killing of rhinos is against the will of Allah. Today's jambiya handles are made from water buffalo horn, camel nails or plastic. Conservation experts no longer see Yemen as a factor in the illegal trade. Despite the decline in the Yemeni market, the illegal trade has hit a fifteen year high which means more than 3100 kgs of illegal horn have reached Asian markets from 2006 to 2009. The poachers operate in armed gangs and are willing to shoot people trying to protect the animals. When poachers are captured, they routinely escape punishment. In September 2008 a gang of four Zimbabwean poachers who admitted killing 18 rhinos were freed by a corrupt judiciary. Senior Mugabe officials have been implicated in the resurgence of rhino poaching according to the Environment Minister, Francis Nhema. 89% of illegally killed rhino come from Zimbabwe. Other rhino countries have population increases, but in Zimbabwe the population is declining. The country has the world's fourth largest population of critically endangered black rhino (Diceros bicornis) but not for long if the criminal gangs are not stopped soon.[photo: ecoworldly.com]