Call for countries to collaborate to curb rhino poaching
Neighbouring Namibia reports an average of 50 rhinos having been poached annually since 2012
SOUTH Africa is not the only country experiencing this scourge of rhino poaching.
Neighbouring Namibia reports an average of 50 rhinos having been poached annually since 2012.
This was highlighted by Namibia’s Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, Bernadette Jagger, at the official opening of the 13th International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Africa Rhino Specialist Group meeting near Okahandja last Tuesday.
The worst year was 2015 when 97 rhinos were killed.
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But as a result of ongoing conservation efforts by the Namibian Defence Force, police, private rhino owners and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, both rhino and elephant poaching incidents have been reduced over the last few years.
‘The Namibian government and rhino owners continuously have to innovate and collaborate to keep poaching levels down’, said Jagger.
‘Despite the poaching onslaught, the white and black rhino populations of the country have persevered and continue to grow.
‘Unprecedented levels of rhino poaching across Africa are being experienced and this threatens the existence of rhinos in the wild.
‘Wildlife trafficking has become a multi-million-dollar criminal enterprise that has expanded to more than just a conservation concern’, she said.
The increasing involvement of criminal syndicates in poaching and wildlife trafficking promotes corruption, threatens species, strengthens illicit trade routes and destabilises economies and communities that depend on wildlife for their livelihoods.
Jagger said countries need to help each other to cope with the poaching scourge.
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