THE wholesale slaughter of rhino in our province’s reserves can be laid squarely at the door of the ANC.
In the last 10 years, the vicious murder statistics has gone from 13 poached in 2007 to 162 in 2016.
Our magnificent animals and our heritage are being sacrificed on the altar of greed fuelled by crime syndicates and the lie that horn is a ‘magic potion’.
The ANC leadership’s failure in KZN has made our reserves soft targets for poachers.
The many vacant posts caused by budget cuts are part of the problem.
The unfenced corridor road and vast wilderness area of our parks allow easier access for poachers, and finally, prosecution of suspects leaves a lot to be desired.
Budget cuts have been touted as the reason for 200 ranger posts not being filled, frankly a pathetic excuse for leadership failure from both the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife board and Environmental Affairs Department in KZN.
We welcomed the Premier Willies Mchunu’s announcement of the formation of a task team to investigate every aspect of the problem, including the prosecution of suspects.
However, nothing further has been reported so we are not sure if this team has started to do its job yet.
We need the Premier’s high level of intervention now. If more rhinos are poached, we may see them back on the path to extinction.
Kruger National Park has managed to curb poaching, and with enough rangers on the ground, we can do the same.
All we need is political will.
ANN MCDONNELL, MPL
