Poaching prevention — success in some areas, failure in others
Between January and the end of August 2016, 458 poached carcasses were found in the Kruger Park, compared to 557 in the same period last year, representing a 17.8% decline.
The successes i n the Kruger National Park have largely been due to the introduction of the intensive protection zone, and the increased use of technology. According to Kirsty Brebner from the Endangered Wildlife Trust, “the drop in poaching is even more significant if you take into account that there has been a marked increase in the number of incursions into the Kruger Park. This means that despite more attempts, fewer animals are being poached.”
The intensive protection zone was i ntroduced i n 2014, and involves the use of sophisticated detection and tracking equipment, and ground and air tracking infrastructure. As part of the system, elite canine units, highly trained ranger teams, improved intelligence gathering and enhanced surveillance systems have all been put in place.
The establishment of the intensive protection zone in the Kruger National Park was made possible by a R255-million donation from philanthropist Howard Buffett — son of US investor Warren Buffett — through his organisation the Howard G Buffett Foundation.
But while the implementation of this intervention has yielded results in the Kruger National Park, the unfortunate knock-on effect has been that there has been an increase in poaching in other areas in South Africa.
“The success in the Kruger has pushed the poachers into other areas, and KZN, the Free State and the Northern Cape have all seen increases [in numbers of rhino poached],” says Brebner.
Because Kruger is a single location, albeit an expansive one, it is possible to implement a single programme that protects the rhino population within its confines. Smaller and private reserves around South Africa simply do not have the budget or manpower to run similar programmes on their own properties.
“Everyone’s resources are stretched. No small reserve is able to budget R150 000 a month to cover full-moon air patrols and the infrastructure necessary to combat poaching,” says Brebner.
Co-operation is key
ate. They visit as paying guests to assess the operation, and then return at a later date to poach the rhino.”
The interventions that work
According to Brebner there is no single intervention that works as a silver bullet against poaching. “The whole thing is so complicated, there’s never going to be one intervention that’s going to change the game.”
She says that while there is a great deal of technology available, not all of it has been adequately tested for use in the South African bush. “The one thing that is very effective is the introduction of trained dogs,” she says. “At the Endangered Wildlife Trust, we run a project using dogs to find poachers after footprints or carcasses have been discovered.”
Dogs can also be trained to sniff for arms, ammunition and rhino horn, making it more difficult for poachers to get in and out of reserves. “Just the presence of the dogs is a deterrent,” she says. “We’ve even had a guy who turned himself in just because he saw the dog — and it hadn’t even picked up a scent.”
She says it’s also vital to acknowledge the dedication of the people working on the ground. “There was recently an arrest of one of the regional rangers by his own men, which just shows the level of commitment.”
She adds that fundraising in the current economic climate remains a challenge. “We rely on donations because we don’t get financial support from government. There are projects where the public can assist in raising funds, like the Relate Bracelets (handmade bracelets sold to raise funds for an allocated charity), or the My Planet cards, and we can’t do without this support.”
However, while it’s important to laud the successes of the fight against rhino poaching, Brebner says that the reality must also be confronted.
“There are lots of challenges. While we’ve arrested 414 poachers this year, we’re still not getting anywhere near the organised crime syndicates, and their involvement is a game changer. They smuggle a suite of things, not just the rhino horn, and they have an international smuggling network that we’re not cracking. The successes should be commended, but we’re still not getting where we need to.”