Fewer rhino poached in 2015

By the end of December 2015, the number of poached rhino was 1 175.

By the end of December 2015, the number of poached rhino was 1 175.

Published Jan 21, 2016

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Pretoria - South Africa on Thursday announced a decline in the number of rhino poached across the country in 2015 compared to the previous year.

“By the end of December 2015, the number of poached rhino was 1 175. It is still too much. Of these (the 1 175), a total of 826 were poached in the Kruger National Park. To put this into context, by the end of December 2014, the number of poached rhino stood at 1 215,” Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said during a media briefing in Pretoria.

Molewa said were it not for government's Integrated Strategic Management of Rhinoceros, announced by Cabinet in August 2014, the situation “would clearly have been far worse and many more rhino would have been lost”.

She said they managed to avoid the sharp increase in rhino poaching usually experienced at year end.

“A lot of work was done and that spike was actually averted. It is undeniable that this is because of the efforts of our people in particular the concerted efforts of law enforcement and security agencies,” Molewa said.

She said based on new census data, South Africa's rhino population is stable. “The 2015 survey determined that the Kruger National Park is now home to between 8 400 to 9 300 white rhino,” said Molewa.

The Integrated Strategic Management of Rhinoceros is the South African government's multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary strategy to combat the rhino poaching scourge.

ANA

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