Poaching prevention — success in some areas, failure in others
Cracking the crime syndicates behind poaching would be the real game changer
While the latest figures reveal an overall drop in rhino poaching in South Africa, an increase in poaching has occurred in three provinces. The overall drop is largely due to a successful programme in the Kruger National Park, but it is proving difficult to replicate this programme elsewhere.
On September 11 Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa announced the progress made in thwarting rhino poaching in South Africa up to August 31 2016. In some areas, the figures are heartening, but others highlight that as soon as one hole is plugged, a leak springs elsewhere.
First, the good news: poach - ing rates reduced by 15.5% compared to the same period in 2015. The poaching rate is a tally of the number of carcasses as a percentage of the number of live rhinos estimated for the same period the previous year. The rate in 2015 was 9.6% and the rate in 2016 was 7.9%.
In real numbers, 702 rhino have been poached since the beginning of 2016, while 796 rhino were poached in the same period in 2015. This number still represents an alarming attrition rate for an endangered species, but it does indicate a small improvement.
This improvement is largely due to efforts in the Kruger National Park. When the latest figures were announced, Molewa stated: “We are pleased to announce yet again, as we did in January and May, that poaching is on the decline in Kruger National Park — the area hardest hit.”