Minister worried about rising poaching

Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa is concerned about the increasing rate of rhino poaching, her office said on Thursday.

"The minister is concerned that four months into the year, the number of rhino poached for their horns has increased to 227," spokesman Albi Modise said.

Molewa also bemoaned the recent theft of 66 rhino horns from a farm earlier this month, he said. The horns were stolen from a Roedtan farmer in Limpopo. He had de-horned his rhino in an attempt to protect them against poachers, a newspaper reported at the time.

Modise said Molewa welcomed efforts to curb the problem, and commended the 60 arrests various law enforcement agencies had made so far.

She urged South Africans to take pride in the country's natural assets, and to help the police fight poaching.

On Tuesday, the carcass of a rhino cow was found in the Kruger National Park, near Letaba. Forensic investigators found the cow while combing the scene of the killing of a rhino cow and its calf two weeks ago near Nwanedzi, in the park's central region.

The total number of rhino killed in the park this year is now 163.