Durban - While rhino poaching has declined overall in South Africa over the past six months, poachers continue to target rhinos in KwaZulu-Natal.
According to statistics released by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, in the first six months of 2023, 231 rhinos were killed in South Africa.
These figures represent an 11% decrease (or a decline of 28 animals killed for their horn) compared with the same period last year.
Between January 1 and June 30, 2023, poaching trends also continued to show a move away from the Kruger National Park to provincial and private reserves.
Forty-two rhinos were poached in the Kruger National Park and 143 in KZN from January to June 2023. Forty-six of the rhinos killed were in privately owned nature reserves and 143 in provincially owned reserves.
The department said because the demand for rhino horn remains a constant threat to rhino populations, collaboration between the law enforcement agencies, including the SAPS, DPCI and the Green Scorpions, as well as customs officials, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and the National Prosecuting Authority, remains key.
It said that in KZN, rhino poachers have continued to target the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi game reserve “where Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, supported by the department and iSimangaliso Wetland Park, continues to implement a number of measures to combat rhino poaching”.
The department said the measures included the establishment of a Tactical Operations Joint Control Centre, which now facilitates the SAPS deployments to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.
“The department made available R40 million for the repair and replacement of the boundary fence around the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi game reserve, which is regularly breached and through which wild animals can escape to nearby communities.
“The National Prosecuting Authority has also designated a prosecutor to facilitate rhino cases in KZN and cases have been prioritised and identified to be expedited through the court processes.”
It added that an important development in strengthening the collaboration between all role-players in order to effectively address the organised nature of rhino poaching and wildlife trafficking was the Cabinet’s recent approval in May this year of the National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking (NISCWT).
“This strategy aims to break the illicit value chain of wildlife trafficking in South Africa and beyond its borders. It represents a commitment by government to direct law enforcement ability and effort and mobilise society support to address the threat wildlife tracking poses to national security and the country’s rich biodiversity. Although currently our main focus is rhino, the strategy also aims to address the illegal trade in, and poaching of, other species that are threatened by trafficking syndicates, like abalone,” said Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy.
Regarding convictions, in the first six months of this year, 31 offenders were convicted, with the majority of sentences being jail terms.