Global research has prized open the lid on the inner workings of international poaching syndicates targeting SA’s wildlife, including highly endangered plants.
A report by the international anti-wildlife trafficking NGO, TRAFFIC, saw researchers interview 73 convicted poachers across SA.
TRAFFIC works globally to help find ways of exposing and stopping the trade in wild animals and plants.
The research, says lead author Sade Moneron, was to gain an understanding of how syndicates operated, how members were recruited and insight into the facilitators of the crimes.
According to TRAFFIC, the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products globally is estimated to be worth over$72bn (R1.1-trillion) annually, and ranks alongside the illegal trafficking of narcotics, arms and humans.
Those interviewed for the research were prisoners convicted for poaching rhinos, abalone and cycads.
The Insights from the Incarcerated report states that most offenders either participated in the initial activity of the illicit wildlife supply chain — the poaching of the wildlife — or participated in supporting roles such as the transport or storage of the wildlife contraband.
Very few were involved in recruitment or sales to buyers.
The research shows SA has grown as a key source, transit hub and destination.
In the past decade 8,200 rhinos were poached in SA, and an estimated 37,000 tons of abalone, worth nearly R96m, were poached between 2006 and 2016, according to TRAFFIC.
Poachers, according to the researchers, have targeted SA extensively for elephant tusks, shark fins, big cat parts, pangolins, reptiles and succulents.
The document shows of the 73 convicts interviewed, who were from SA, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, 74% [54] were serving sentences for rhino poaching, 15% for abalone poaching and 11% were convicted for poaching cycads, with the majority being men, who were all younger than 35.
Those interviewed were convicted between 2009 and 2019.
The report states many of the poachers actively researched their targets, with several relying on the internet to establish which wildlife parks had their targets.
“One of those interviewed conducted internet research on private game reserves that he was going to target, while another used the internet to research the natural distribution of cycads in SA.
“The ease of access to, and knowledge of corrupt police played a big role in poachers scouting locations.”
The report states nearly 25% of those interviewed said they used corrupt government officials to help them commit their crimes.
“One offender reportedly used lawyers and accountants to help him launder his money.”
While syndicates involved in rhino, cycad and abalone poaching all operated in a similar manner, cycads were sold mainly locally while abalone and rhino horn were sold to buyers in East and Southeast Asia.
The report states SA, which has 38 indigenous species of cycads, has become a global hotspot for such crimes.
“Cycads are the most threatened plants in SA ... between 2011 and 2019 over R18m worth of cycads was illegally removed from the Eastern Cape.”
The authors said during an interview with a poacher, he revealed that for 20 cycads he poached he was paid R100,000.
The Eastern Cape, followed by Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, has the country’s highest rate when it comes to cycad poaching.
“The market for cycads is local, with cycads being highly prized by wealthy individuals living in economic hubs in SA ... with most transported to Gauteng where they are bought by people who plant them in their gardens in Pretoria and Johannesburg.”
In terms of abalone poaching the authors said the SA population decreased by 35% between 2005 and 2014, with the illegal economic trade between 2000 and 2016 estimated to be R10bn.
The report says abalone poachers can harvest 25kg to 100kg of the shellfish a night.
“The majority of divers are from poor marginalised communities, with the intermediaries being South African, while the buyers and exporters are Chinese nationals who live in Gauteng.”
The report states, because of the specialised techniques required to dry and process the abalone, Chinese nationals work in the processing and drying plants, which are located usually on farms or smallholdings.
“Processing can take up to three weeks depending on the amount of abalone being processed.”
When it came to the analysis of rhino poaching syndicates, the report, citing government data, revealed that between 2010 and 2016, an estimated 31 tons, worth between R2bn and R4bn, entered the illegal global market.
The research showed that at least 50% of the poachers were recruited through their social networks, including family, with most of them being unemployed.
Most poaching groups consist of highly experienced poachers who have either been arrested or convicted multiple times for poaching.
Poachers, according to the report, can remove a horn from a rhino in “between five and 20 minutes”.
Moneron said the research was to grapple with how and why wildlife trafficking occurred.
“It focused on those who are involved in these crimes. We looked at those who were convicted, as they would be more willing to speak than those awaiting trial.”
She said the research questioned convicts about how and why they became involved.
“The main finding from this research is that those involved were low level offenders, with very few higher up the supply chain.”
Moneron said for law enforcement to disrupt wildlife crime syndicates, senior syndicate members needed to be arrested and successfully prosecuted.
She said the research set off alarm bells about how much corruption played a role in facilitating wildlife crimes.
“It is absolutely vital if this war is to be won that corruption is stamped out.
“The SA government is taking this crime seriously, but the seriousness needs to be scaled up.”
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