FORESTRY, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has reiterated her department's commitment to stamping out rhino poaching.
Creecy said she continues to work closely with the private sector and non-governmental organisations through the Integrated Strategic Management of Rhinoceros approach and the draft National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking to address rhino poaching.
A total of 451 rhino were poached in South Africa in 2021, 327 within government reserves and 124 on private property. While there is a 24% decrease in rhino poaching compared to the pre-Covid period in 2019, there has been an increase in poaching on private properties.
Creecy said that last year, 209 rhino were poached for their horns in South African National Parks – all in the Kruger National Park.
"This was in fact a decrease in comparison to 2020 when 247 rhino were poached within the national parks. It is important to note that none of SANParks’ smaller rhino parks experienced any rhino losses from poaching in 2021, in comparison to the two rhino that were poached in 2020," she said.
Creecy said information collected and communication flows through the Environmental Enforcement Fusion Centre (EEFC) which continues to support the teams at both a tactical level and strategic level.
“Our analysis capabilities have also improved, resulting in the increased identification of those involved in rhino poaching and trafficking and improved and expanded investigations by multi-disciplinary teams. SANParks, provincial nature reserves and private rhino owners are dehorning rhino to deter poachers, while SANParks is investigating the feasibility of additional actions such as anti-poaching initiatives focused on apprehending poachers and establishing additional founder populations outside the Kruger National Park," Creecy said.
She added that last year there were 189 arrests in connection with poaching activities: 77 within the Kruger National Park and 109 outside the Park. This compared with 156 people arrested countrywide in 2020. In the 38 verdicts handed down by the courts, 37 cases resulted in the conviction of 61 accused rhino poachers/traffickers.
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