Rhino poachers look to KwaZulu-Natal as Kruger net tightens
Overall poaching numbers have declined but conservation groups warn there are still reasons to be concerned
SA is losing three rhinos a day to poachers‚ despite law enforcement in the Kruger National Park reducing the losses there. This is according to the rhino poaching statistics released by the Department of Environmental Affairs on Monday. Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said: "We are pleased to report that our Integrated Strategic Management Approach is yielding the desired results. The 2016 statistics indicate that we registered a decline in the number of rhino poached‚ both for the country as a whole and for Kruger National Park." A total of 1‚054 rhino were poached in 2016‚ compared with 1‚175 in the same period in 2015‚ representing a decline of 10.3%. In the Kruger‚ a total of 662 rhino carcasses were found in 2016 compared with 826 in 2015. "This represents a reduction of 19.85% in 2016. This is despite a continued increase in the number of illegal incursions into the Kruger National Park‚" the minister said. "For 2016 there were a staggering 2‚883 instances of poach...
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