Rhino poachers return as Covid-19 travel restrictions ease

RHINO poaching is on the rise again in South Africa since the government loosened Covid-19 restrictions after a year-long lull, wildlife parks say.

The strict limits on travel, including international travel, imposed in March last year had the happy side effect of keeping poachers at bay. In 2020, 394 rhinos were poached, 30% fewer than the year before and the lowest yearly tally since 2011.

But then international travel restrictions were eased in November.

“Since November, December last year and into 2021, this landscape and particularly Kruger National Park has been experiencing serious numbers of rhino-poaching incidents,” said Jo Shaw, the Africa Rhino Lead for WWF International Network.

She declined to say how many incidents had occurred.

“There is a very real and realised threat as poaching pressure has increased since lockdown, perhaps to meet the demand from the international markets,” she said.

Rhino poaching often involves both local poachers and international criminal syndicates that smuggle the high-value commodity across borders, often to Asia where demand is high.

Reserves, which have been battling tighter budgets amid a Covid-19induced lull in tourism, have also been forced to cut back on anti-poaching patrols, compounding the threat to rhinos.

The environmental ministry is expected to release its 2021 half-year poaching figures at the end of June.