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13 February 2013

Media Release: Update on the rhino poaching statistics

The successful arrests came as the number of rhino poached since January 1, 2013, rose to 96. Of the rhino poached, 66 rhino were killed in the Kruger National Park, 11 in North West, 10 in KwaZulu-Natal. The total number of alleged poachers arrested in the Kruger National Park has risen to 23 from 14 last week.

In a separate development, the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, has welcomed the recommendation by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)”s Secretariat that Kenya”s proposal to the upcoming 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) to halt the trade in rhino trophies and rhino products until COP18 be rejected. “We welcome the CITES Secretariat”s recommendation and its endorsement of South Africa”s rhino management and conservation practices. We also welcome CITES” acknowledgement of the recent significant steps taken to improve the management of rhino hunting,” said Minister Molewa.

The Department of Environmental Affairs implemented norms and standards for the marking of rhino horn, the collection of rhino data for a national database, and for the hunting of rhinos for trophies in 2012 as a tool to curb rhino poaching, publishing and implementing revised norms and standards for the marking of rhinoceros horn and for the hunting of rhinoceros for trophy hunting purposes. These norms and standards have put in place stricter controls for the issuing of rhino hunting permits, hunting of rhino and the transportation of the horn, which resulted in a significant reduction in the number of hunting applications received.

The proposal by Kenya to the CITES COP16, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2013, requests that members amend the annotation for white rhino populations in South Africa and Swaziland by placing a zero export quota on hunting trophies until at least COP 18. This would mean that hunting trophies from South Africa would be subjected to a “zero quota until at least COP18” and that trade in all other rhino specimens be strictly regulated.

In its response the CITES Secretariat has stated that the proposed amendment would result in a trade regime for hunting trophies from the Appendix-II listed white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) populations of South Africa and Swaziland that would be more restrictive than for other range states whose rhino are already listed under Appendix I. The CITES Secretariat states: “It would prevent South Africa and Swaziland from a using a management option that can be sustainable and beneficial for the conservation of the species; discourage the involvement of private landowners in the conservation of white rhinoceroses and undermine national and local rhino management strategies.”

South Africa has recently taken significant steps to improve its management of rhino hunting and the supporting statement does not show that trophy hunting, as currently regulated and enforced in South Africa, is negatively impacting the populations of white rhino in the country, the Secretariat said.

South Africans are urged to report any information or tip offs that they may have in relation to rhino poaching to the anonymous tip-off lines 0800 205 005.

Rhino poaching statistics:

SA 2010 2011 2012 2013
KNP (SANParks) 146 252 425 66
MNP (SANParks) 0 6 3 0
GP 15 9 1 0
LIM 52 74 59 5
MP 17 31 28 4
NW 57 21 77 11
EC 4 11 7 0
FS 3 4 0 0
KZN 38 34 66 10
WC 0 6 2 0
NC 1 0 0 0
TOTAL 333 448 668 96

Rhino poaching arrests statistics :

South Africa – Arrests 2013 2012 2011 2010
KNP (SANParks) 23 73 82 67
MNP (SANParks) 1 0 0 0
Gauteng (GP) 3 26 16 10
Mpumalanga (MP) 0 66 73 16
Eastern Cape (EC) 0 0 2 7
Limpopo (LIM) 4 43 34 36
North West (NW) 2 32 21 2
Free State (FS) 0 6 0 0
KZN 1 20 4 25
Western Cape (WC) 0 0 0 2
Northern Cape (NC) 0 1 0 0
TOTAL 34 267 232 165

For media queries, contact:
Albi Modise on 083 490 2871, DEA Spokesperson

Issued by:
The Department of Environmental Affairs on 13 February 2013