JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A politician, a comedian and a journalist are members of a Vietnamese delegation that has visited South Africa to learn firsthand about rhino poaching, which is fueled in large part by demand for rhino horn in Vietnam.

The group ended its trip Tuesday after traveling to South Africa's Kruger National Park, where delegates saw the carcass of a rhino killed for its horn.

Some people in Vietnam covet rhino horn as a status symbol and a healing agent, despite evidence that it has no medicinal value. The trade is illegal, but rhino poaching has increased sharply in South Africa in recent years.

The delegation's visit to South Africa was partly organized by the Rhinose Foundation, a non-profit group that hopes to reduce demand in Vietnam by raising public awareness.

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(Photo: AP Photo/Denis Farrell)