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South Africa saw a marked decline in rhino poaching in 2020, with the 394 rhino poached for their horn translating to a 33% drop from the previous year.
Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy say that during the various Lockdown Alert Levels in 2020, the movement of alleged poachers and rhino horn smugglers had been curtailed.
The Minister said that to move from the current moderate win to a strong win, the Department was focusing on a more proactive and integrated approach.
This approach builds on existing initiatives and blurs the distinction made between national, provincial and private parks whilst increasing situational awareness.
Minister Creecy said the 394 rhino poached for their horn in South Africa last year was a third down on the 594 rhino killed in 2019 and marks the sixth year that rhino poaching has continued to decrease in South Africa.
During 2020 the Kruger National Park experienced 1573 poacher activities, a decrease of 21.9% in comparison to the number in 2019 which was 2014.
From January to December 2020, 66 alleged poachers were arrested within the Kruger National Park.
A total of 90 people were arrested for rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking outside the Kruger and more than 25 major investigations were undertaken across the country.
