Durban - “Success” is not the word that should be used when referring to the number of rhinos that have been killed by poachers in 2021/22 as compared to previous years. That’s the view of animal rights lobby groups in response to the 2022 South African National Parks (SANParks) Annual Report.
The report states that the Kruger National Park (KNP) lost 195 rhinos to poaching in 2021/22, compared to 247 rhinos in the previous year. The 195 rhinos killed by poachers in the reporting year relate to an average of one every two days. This is compared to the previous year when it was one rhino every 36 hours.
The report said that these “successes” could be attributed to the Integrated Wildlife Strategy developed by the government.
During Disaster Management Regulations for lockdown level 1, SANParks witnessed a significant drop in wildlife crime, particularly rhino poaching in KNP. The Skukuza Court presides over most rhino poaching cases and achieved a 97% conviction rate, according to the Stock Theft Unit in Mpumalanga. Nevertheless, the report stated that case management challenges included slow turnaround in DNA and ballistic testing.
Megan Carr of Rhinos in Africa said official transparency surrounding the exact rhino population figures has been problematic.
“KNP was considered the stronghold of Africa’s white rhino and the epicentre of the unabated illegal killing spree since 2008. Historically, the Department of Environmental Affairs has preferred to release figures related to the number of rhinos illegally killed. The illegal killing of rhino at KNP has slowed down considerably in recent years, there are far fewer rhinos left to be killed.
“It is more difficult to find the remaining rhino in the vast KNP, the killers are more at risk of being caught the longer they are active in park,” said Carr.
She said that Covid-19 resulted in the closure of provincial and international borders which would have acted as a deterrent for the killers and traffickers.
“Despite the content of the latest SANParks report, the reliability of the benchmark population counts for the wild black and white rhino in the state-owned National Parks in SA needs to be questioned,” said Carr.
Stefania Falcon, co-ordinator of Wildlife Animal Protection Forum of South Africa (WAPSFA), said legalising the rhino horn trade in the country had not slowed down the kill rate in the KNP.
“We questioned why the South African government never attempted to advertise its intention to ban the domestic horn with the correct notice period and circulation information after defending the ban on the rhino horn trade through all the legal processes. The government chose to focus on developing new legislation which included setting out the requirements for the domestic sales of rhino horn,” said Falcon.
The EMS Foundation will soon publish the second edition of the “Where Have All the Rhino Gone Report”. Director Michele Pickover said barring a few recent notable exceptions, the lack of prosecutions and convictions of high-level criminals in South Africa had enabled transnational organised crime networks to continue their operations with minimal disruption.
“In a report, the Wildlife Justice Commission stated that the consistent level of rhino horn trafficking implicating South Africa and Vietnam is indicative of the extent to which criminality is embedded in both countries. Furthermore, according to a SANParks presentation to the parliamentary monitoring group which took place on January 3, the population of white and black rhino has not been adequately halted as the current kill rates are not offset by birth rates resulting in a net loss of rhino,” said Pickover.
The Department of Environment Forestry and Fisheries did not respond to questions at the time of publication.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE