Slaughter of South African rhino unpacked

South Africa lost 1‚175 rhinos to poachers in 2015‚ Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said on Thursday.

While high‚ this was an improvement on 2014 when 1‚215 were poached.

“For the first time in a decade the poaching numbers have stabilised in South Africa‚” she told a news briefing.

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The minister said intervention programmes were ongoing. These included training of 147 border enforcement officials‚ and new technologies introduced to fight rhino poaching. Nearly 400 magistrates underwent intensive training last year to get a deeper understanding of the effects of rhino poaching‚ she added.

During 2015‚ 124 rhino were translocated from the Kruger park to protect them from poachers. “These translocations to protected areas will continue in March 2016‚” Molewa said.

A total of 317 arrests related to rhino poaching at the Kruger National Park were made last year‚ and a total of 188 firearms were seized at the park in the year.