Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, has announced a slight decrease in the number of rhino poached between January and the end of June.
She said on Monday that 529 rhino had been poached since the beginning of the year, 13 fewer than were killed during the same period last year.
Minister Molewa said that 243 rhino carcasses were found in Kruger National Park in the six month period in 2017, compared to 354 in the same period in 2016.
Molewa was briefing the media on the impact of Government's Integrated Strategic Management Approach of Rhinoceros.
She cautioned however that the declining numbers did not mean that government could proclaim victory even though a downward trend was being established.
Minister Molewa said thougth that "this was cause of cautious optimism".
Meanwhile, Molewa said that while the number of poaching incidents were down in Kruger National Park, the number of rhinos poached increased in other provinces.
She also said that about 30 elephants were poached in Kruger National Park during the period under review.
Minister Molewa said that the interventions that the Department of Environmental Affairs had embarked upon in dealing with rhino are also being implemented to counter the poaching of elephants.
She said it was clear that more resources will be needed to address the challenges being experienced with respect to the poaching of both rhino and elephants.
