News

The world celebrated the annual World Rhino Day on 22 September and South African National Parks (SANParks) once again called for collaborations with communities, law enforcement agencies and neighbouring countries to defeat the poaching of these prehistoric animals. The World Rhino Day tradition started in 2010 as an opportunity for people all over the world to take a stand against rhino poaching and the illegal trade in rhino horn.

The highest priorities in the campaign against rhino poaching are to bolster anti-poaching activities, to maintain intensive monitoring and active management of wild populations, and to intensify awareness and pressure to bring to book criminals and syndicates who shamelessly participate in the poaching scourge.

Speaking on behalf of SANParks, The CEO Fundisile Mketeni said, “We need to step up the campaign against this onslaught on our natural heritage by criminal syndicates just as we saw in this weeks’ arrests of suspected local kingpins by the various law enforcement agencies in Mpumalanga supported by SANParks and we look forward to their day in court, and if found guilty, that stiff sentences are imposed against them “said Mketeni. Meanwhile two individuals were arrested in Standerton also in the Mpumalanga Province in a police operation headed by the Hawks for trying to sell 19 rhino horns to an undercover police agent. They will appear in court on the 25 September 2018.

He went on to say that society cannot stand by and watch helplessly as criminals declare war on our natural heritage saying “We all need to defend our heritage with everything we have and stand together to stop these killings.”

As the world celebrates the day, SANParks announced Rhino Poaching statistics in KNP for the period January 2018 to end August 2018 which revealed a drop in the number of Rhino poached by almost 37 percent when compared to the previous year. This despite the fact that poacher activities had increased in the Kruger National Park (KNP), as compared to the same period last year. In the 2018 period, 167 suspects were arrested by the Rangers and SAPS compared to 114 last year and 76 heavy calibre hunting rifles and ammunition were recovered compared to 59 last year.

Mketeni said this indicated that many animals had been saved by the brave actions of the Rangers and support teams, as many of the apprehended suspects had been arrested before killing an animal. The success has sadly come at a high price for Ranger Respect Mathebula who lost his life in a contact with poachers in the (KNP) which has borne the brunt of rhino poaching. Ranger Mathebula is the first Ranger to be killed by poachers since 1958.He was shot with an assault rifle which signifies a shift in the campaign and requires urgent intervention from all parties involved in the campaign, including heavy sentences for illegal possession of rifles and ammunition, trespassing in a national park with the intention to poach and other related charges. The SANParks CEO commended the dedication of Rangers, their professionalism and skills in this campaign to stop the plundering of our natural heritage.

Mketeni concluded by saying, “As we celebrate this day, let us honour the memory of Respect and do the right thing, by saying no to the temptation of being involved in criminality especially our colleagues in the Rangers Corps, the SAPS and the SANParks in general. You will not only embarrass yourself when the long arm of the law catches up with you, but your family, colleagues and the country as well.”

Issued By

South African National Parks (SANParks) – Communications and Marketing Department – Kruger National Park

Enquiries

Isaac Phaahla
GM Communications and Marketing, KNP
Telephone: 012 426 5315/013 735 4363; Cell 083 673 6974
Email: [email protected]

William Mabasa
GM: Community Liaison & Land Claims, Kruger National Park
Tel: 013 735 3502; Cell: 082 807 3919
Email: [email protected]