David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

According to a report in the Independent, zoos in Britain have been warned that their rhinos may be targeted by poachers due to the increasing value of ivory in the Asian medicine market.

It is understood that rhino horn has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat fevers whereas, in Vietnam it is commonly prescribed by some medical practitioners as a " detoxicant " and is taken as an antidote to overindulgence. It is rumoured that some Asian cultures believe rhino horn can even cure cancer. Consequently, the horn is now worth more than $40,000 ( £25 ,500) per kilogram.

Traffickers and gangs have been breaking into museums and auction rooms in Britain and Europe to steal rhino heads and horns. British authorities fear the next target will be live rhinos housed in zoos.

The National Wildlife Crime Unit has alerted all 15 British zoos and wildlife and safari parks which hold rhinos and encouraged them to tighten security and report any suspicious activity to police immediately. Eighty-five rhinos are housed across the 15 zoos located in Britain.

"We have warned British zoos to be on their guard against the possibility of being targeted by criminals seeking rhino horn," said head of the unit, Detective Inspector Brian Stuart.

The report says that concern is growing that criminals will try to break into British zoos at night and kill or tranquilize rhinos and remove their horns.

Authorities first became aware of the threat to zoos after a man was caught trying to smuggle a rhino horn out of Britain into Asia, the report said.

In July 2011, poachers broke into Ipswich Museum and cut off the horn of an Indian rhino named Rosie, who had been there since 1907. The mounted head of a black rhino was stolen from Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers  in Essex in February 2011 and a similar head was taken from the Educational Museum in Surrey in May 2011.

A single big horn that weighs more than 5kg could fetch more than $200,000 ( £127 ,600), making the potential profits tempting.

The announcement follows recent news of South Africa's rhino poaching crisis, with the number of rhino deaths soaring to record numbers in the past year. In 2011, 448 rhinoceros were killed in poaching-related activity in South Africa, according to official government statistics. The annual total includes 19 endangered black rhinos, of which fewer than 5,000 remain in the wild.

"These alarming trends are having a massive effect on the already vulnerable populations in the wild," says DSWF , CEO Melanie Shepherd.

DSWF issued a press release last week about the rising trend in wildlife crime in the UK and urged everyone to be alert.

"Wildlife crime isn't just happening in the far east, it's right here, right now on our doorsteps and we must act," adds Melanie Shepherd.

For more on DSWF's work with rhino click here