16 October 2012 | Cape
Town – Rhino poaching statistics released
today by South African authorities show
that a record 455 rhinos have been lost
to poaching already in 2012. The number
exceeds the 448 rhinos killed for their
horns during the whole of 2011.
“The most recent figure
is disappointing as last year’s total has
already been exceeded by mid-October. World-famous
safari destination Kruger National Park
continues to be the hardest hit by poachers
with 272 rhinos killed to-date,” said Dr
Jo Shaw, WWF-South Africa’s Rhino Co-ordinator.
Rhino poaching rates
have increased rapidly since 2007 as new
markets for rhino horn have emerged in Asia,
primarily in Viet Nam. Rhino horn has recently
been touted as a hangover cure and treatment
for terminal illnesses, according to a report
by WWF’s partner TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade
monitoring network.
“It is critical for
the South African government to engage with
consumer countries and to fight against
international syndicates involved in illegal
rhino horn trade. WWF is concerned that
the Memorandum of Understanding with Viet
Nam for collaborative action against illegal
rhino horn trade remains unsigned. There
is also an urgent need for law enforcement
actions by neighbouring countries which
are implicated as transit routes for illegal
trade in rhino horn, specifically Mozambique,”
Shaw said.
The number of arrests
for rhino crimes has increased this year
in South Africa, with 207 poachers, middlemen
and couriers taken into police custody.
WWF commends the South African government
and law enforcement authorities for their
continued efforts to help curb illegal wildlife
trade, but believes there is no room for
complacency.
A major alleged rhino
poaching syndicate, the so-called ‘Groenewald
Gang’, is due to appear in a South African
court Friday. The group, consisting of a
safari tour operator, veterinarians, professional
hunters and a helicopter pilot, is facing
charges related to the killing of 20 rhinos
who were found without their horns.
“The world is watching
to see that South Africa is prepared to
prosecute rhino crimes to the fullest extent
of the law and take these crimes seriously
as an affront to South Africa’s national
heritage,” Shaw said.
WWF is calling on governments
implicated in the illegal trade of wildlife
products such as rhino horn to increase
law enforcement, impose strong deterrents
and conduct widespread demand reduction
campaigns to discourage the consumption
of endangered species products.
WWF is also helping
to ensure that existing rhino populations
grow as quickly as possible. Earlier this
month, WWF flew 13 rhinos to new homes as
part of a range expansion project that has
established eight new black rhino populations
in South Africa. There are fewer than 5,000
of the critically endangered animals remaining.
“To-date, rhino numbers
continue to grow in South Africa as more
rhinos are being born than are dying, even
when poaching mortalities are taken into
account,” Shaw said. “However, we are approaching
the critical tipping point where rhino numbers
go into decline and would undermine conservation
efforts.”
