Zuko Komisa

231 Rhinos killed since January in SA, showing a 11% decrease since last year.
231 rhinos were killed in South Africa in the first half of this year, which is an 11% decrease from the same period last year.
Barbara Crecy, minister of forestry, fisheries, and the environment, said during this time poaching tendencies continued to demonstrate a shift away from the Kruger National Park to provincial and private reserves.
She was speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday.
Crecy said that in the first six months of this year efforts by both the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have led to the conviction of 31 offenders.
“Forty-two rhinos were poached in the Kruger National Park and 143 in KwaZulu-Natal province from January to June 2023. Forty-six of the rhinos killed were in privately-owned nature reserves and 143 in provincially-owned reserves,” the Minister said in Pretoria.
Also Read: 6 life sentences for biological father who raped and impregnated daughter
Creecy emphasized the importance of having rangers patrolling our national parks.
“The role of rangers in supporting the prosecution and sentencing of those arrested for wildlife crimes committed in the Kruger cannot be underestimated.
“There is strong collaboration between the SAPS forensic teams and South African National Parks (SANParks) Environmental and Corporate Investigations (ECI) when attending crime scenes to ensure the collection of vital evidence to link suspects to the crime scenes. It is also done to ensure minimum contamination of the crime scene.” said Creecy.
READ NEXT: Unpacking the role of race in presidential candidates



