The minister of this department, Barbara Creecy, said although the Covid-19 lockdown period had helped to decrease these numbers, the role of rangers and security personnel who remained at their posts and the additional steps taken by government also made a significant difference.
In its statement, DEFF claimed that after 10 years of implementing various strategies to combat rhino poaching by local poachers recruited and managed by crime syndicates, South Africa has now seen a year-on-year reduction in the number of poached rhinos.
During 2020, 394 rhinos were poached for their horns in our country. This is 33 per cent less than the 594 killed in 2019, and marks the sixth year that rhino poaching has continued to decrease in South Africa.
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Despite this, the number of rhinos left in the Kruger National Park (KNP) still leaves many uncomfortable when this is compared to earlier numbers.
According to the website journal.plos.org, the KNP had 10 621 white rhinos in 2011 compared to about 3 549 recorded in the SANParks annual report for 2019/20.
The same website registered 415 black rhinos in KNP for 2013 compared to about 268 in the annual report for 2019/20.
The SANParks report also stated that, for the first time in five years, the birth number of rhinos was equal to the number of deaths due to either natural causes or poaching.
The DEFF statement continued with documented poacher experiences in KNP for 2020.
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During last year, the Kruger experienced 1 573 poacher activities, a decrease of 21,9 per cent compared to 2019’s number of 2 014. During 2020, 247 rhinos were poached for their horns in SANParks, 245 in the KNP and two in Marakele National Park.
Although there was an initial decrease in poaching during the first stage of lockdown, that changed later in the year as the lockdown level eased.
A significant spike was experienced in the KNP towards the end of 2020, especially during December.
The department provided a comparison of rhinos poached in 2019 and 2020.
In 2019, 594 rhino were poached throughout the country in total, while 2020 saw 394 being killed. SANParks and further provincial statistics were indicated separately.
• SANParks’ numbers decreased from 328 to 247
• Gauteng’s numbers decreased from five to two
• Limpopo’s numbers decreased from 45 to 18
• Mpumalanga’s numbers decreased from 34 to 13
• North West’s numbers decreased from 32 to 19
• The Eastern Cape’s numbers decreased from two to zero
• Free State’s numbers decreased from 11 to one
• The Northern Cape’s numbers decreased from four to one
• KwaZulu-Natal’s numbers decreased from 133 to 93
• There were no rhinos poached in the Western Cape during these years.
Arrests
DEFF said a number of successful arrests and prosecutions have also been recorded in the past 12 months, giving credence to the integrated work of the law enforcement agencies.
This includes the police, the Hawks, SANParks, the Environmental Management Inspectorate or Green Scorpions, customs officials, SANDF, provincial park authorities and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
From January to December last year, 66 alleged poachers were arrested within the KNP. A total of 90 people were arrested for rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking outside the Kruger, and more than 25 major investigations were undertaken across the country.
A special focus is placed by the NPA on the prosecution of rhino poaching and related matters in order to curb this growing transnational phenomenon. The enhanced focus resulted in a significant increase in the number of convictions and verdict cases finalised, indicating the dedication and commitment of the prosecutors to this goal.
A total of 45 cases were finalised with a verdict, while 44 convictions were obtained, representing a remarkable 97,8 per cent conviction rate.
Countries working together on sharing information and conducting investigations remains a key to the success in combating wildlife trafficking.
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The integrated approach to international collaboration has seen the Hawks, the Green Scorpions, Dirco, Interpol, Customs, US Fish and Wildlife, US Homeland Security and the UNODC working together on various aspects of wildlife trafficking.
Regional information sharing between Botswana, eSwatini, Kenya, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe continues to result in positive outcomes, while engagements with Vietnam have seen rhino samples submitted to the RHODIS DNA database for analysis and further investigation.
Malaysia and Singapore have also greatly assisted in several investigations and the submission of rhino horn samples to RHODIS, while information sharing between South Africa, China and Hong Kong has begun to further enhance the DEFF’s ability to combat rhino horn trafficking.
