Sixteen elephants were poached for their ivory in the park last year, compared to the 31 killed in South African National Parks (Kruger National Park and Marakele National Park) in 2019.
The department said during the various lockdown alert levels in 2020, the movement of alleged poachers and rhino horn smugglers had been curtailed. Initially, there was a significant reduction in poacher incursions into KNP, home to the largest numbers of rhino in SA.
However, that changed later in the year as the lockdown levels eased and a significant spike in poaching was experienced towards the end 2020, especially during December. Anumber of successful arrests and prosecutions had also been recorded in the past 12 months.
COVID-19 contributed to decrease in rhino poaching â Creecy
Written by defenceWeb -
Dehorned rhino.
Barbara Creecy, the Cabinet Minister tasked with conserving and protecting South Africaâs natural assets, maintains there was âa marked declineâ nationally in rhino poaching last year.
âThe extraordinary circumstances surrounding the battle to beat the COVID-19 pandemic contributed in part to the decrease in rhino poaching in 2020, while the role of rangers and security personnel who remained at their posts and additional steps taken by government to effectively deal with these and related offenses played a significant role,â the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister said in a statement released today (Monday, 1 February).
Photo courtesy of Marataba.
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