KOMPETISIE

Rhino poaching is on the rise again in South Africa since the government loosened coronavirus restrictions, following a year-long lull due to the pandemic, 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 South Africa began easing international travel restrictions 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,” Jo Shaw, the Africa Rhino Lead for WWF International Network told Reuters. 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 highvalue commodity across borders, often to Asia where demand is high.

Reserves, which have been battling tighter budgets amid a coronavirus-induced decline in tourism, have also been forced to cut back on anti-poaching patrols, compounding the threat to rhinos. Some reserves use dehorning as a way to prevent armed poachers from taking advantage of easier cross-border travel.

(Source: Reuters)