On the couch - Rhino War
Couch - Rhino War
Two guests join us on the virtual couch today, to talk about the war on rhino poaching about how a shift in tactics has at last started delivering some results in the Kruger National Park. The department of Environmental Affairs last released rhino poaching figures in February this year. They told that 451 rhino were poached in South Africa during 2021 – - a 24% decrease compared to 2019, which is the last meaningful comparison year seeing as Covid lockdowns skewed the figures dramatically in 2020. It’s also a notable drop from where we were a few years back, when over a thousand rhino were poached every year from 2012 to 2017.
When one looks specifically at the Kruger National Park, we see that 209 rhinos where poached last year, a drop from 247 in 2019, and down from a peak where over 500 animals were being killed per year in the mid 2010’s. Despite the steady decrease, the impact on the rhino population has been devastating, with the park’s numbers dropping by 60% since 2013. It is a grim picture despite the hopeful downturn. But one thing stood out in Minister Edna Molewa’s press statement this Feb – her comment about how collaboration between police and Sanparks had led to an increase in arrest and convictions, and how the increased intensity of anti-poaching activities in the park was contributing to the steady decline.
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