NUMBER OF RHINOS POACHED IN SOUTH AFRICA SINKS BY A THIRD

The number of rhinos killed by poachers for their horns has decreased by a third in South Africa, largely due to COVID-19 movement restrictions, government said.

Under 400 rhinos were killed in 2020, down from 594 the previous year, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said in a statement, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Poaching of other animals, including elephants killed for their ivory, also declined drastically, she added. In South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park alone, poaching of all animals fell almost 22 percent, with 16 elephants poached in 2020 compared to 31 in 2019, the statement read.

“While the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the battle to beat the COVID-19 pandemic contributed in part to the decrease in rhino poaching in 2020, the role of rangers and security personnel who remained at their posts and the additional steps taken by the government to effectively deal with these and related offenses, also played a significant role,” Creecy said.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said the decline was “encouraging,” but warned that rhino poaching remained a major concern in South Africa, especially in Kruger Park.

“The animals will remain a target in the cross-hairs of a poacher’s rifle. We encourage focusing even more on giving management and rangers in Kruger what they need to stop the poachers,” said IFAW regional director for southern Africa Neil Greentwood.

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