Chumlong Lemtongthai received the unusually harsh sentence from a local magistrates’ court today, EyeWitness News reported, amid a record number of rhino deaths this year.

Lemtongthai pleaded guilty to paying prostitutes who posed as hunters in order to harvest the horns, which were then sold on Asia’s lucrative traditional medicine market.

The group is thought to have netted around 26 rhino horns.

In handing down the sentence, the judge said he did not want his grandchildren to grow up without being able to see rhinos.

South African officials said 528 rhinos have been killed already this year, shattering previous records.

National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Phindi Louw welcomed the ruling.

“It will send a strong message that as South Africans we will do everything in our power to preserve our heritage,” she told AFP.

“We believe it’s an appropriate sentence that will be able to send a message that as a country we will never tolerate people who come to our country unlawfully with the purpose of destroying our wildlife.”

Lemtongthai can now appeal his sentence.