- South Africa, ground zero of rhino poaching in Africa, today reported a slight drop in the number of animals killed last year, but that decrease was more than offset by significant increases in neighboring countries.
- In Zimbabwe, poachers killed 12 rhinos in 2014 and a widely reported total of “at least 50” in 2015, while rhino deaths in Namibia also rose sharply, from 24 in 2014 to 80 last year.
- A number of rhino conservation measures were agreed to last week at the 66th Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
2015 was yet another deadly year for rhinos in Africa as at least 1,305 animals were killed by poachers.
According to TRAFFIC, a UK-based non-profit that monitors the wildlife trade, that makes last year the deadliest on record for Africa’s rhinos. Rhino poachers caused the death of 1,299 animals in 2014.
South Africa, ground zero of rhino poaching in Africa and home to as much as 80 percent of the world’s rhino population, reported today that 1,175 rhinos were illegally killed in the country in 2015.
That actually represents a small drop from the 1,215 rhinos killed in South Africa in 2014, TRAFFIC said, but that decrease was more than offset by significant increases in neighboring countries.
“While a slight decrease in rhino poaching in South Africa was apparent in 2015, and perhaps the authorities are having some impact on the ground, these numbers are hardly cause for celebration or complacency,” Sabri Zain, TRAFFIC’s Director of Policy, said in a statement.
“The figures remain unacceptably high and continent-wide the scale of the rhino poaching crisis is spreading.”
In Zimbabwe, poachers killed 12 rhinos in 2014 and a widely reported total of “at least 50” in 2015, TRAFFIC found, while rhino deaths in Namibia also rose sharply, from 24 in 2014 to 80 last year.
The fourth major rhino range state, Kenya, is the only country expected to report a significant fall in rhino poaching in 2015.
“For Africa as a whole, this is the worst year in decades for rhino poaching,” Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC’s rhino expert, said in a statement.
“The poaching epicenter has spread to neighboring Namibia and Zimbabwe, but is nowhere near being extinguished in South Africa: despite some commendable efforts being made, we’re still a very long way from seeing the light at the end of this very dark tunnel.”
A number of rhino conservation measures were agreed to last week at the 66th Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). All countries involved in rhino poaching were directed to implement key strategies and actions developed by the CITES Rhinoceros Enforcement Task Force.
Specific instructions were issued to a number of countries, including Vietnam, the largest importer of poached rhino horn, which was instructed to implement improved penal reforms and to take action to reduce the demand for rhino horn in domestic markets.
Demand for rhino horn in China is also driving illegal poaching and trade. Rhino horn is believed to have curative properties by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.
“The world is watching especially those destination countries whose demand drives the trade—Vietnam and China,” TRAFFIC’s Milliken said.
“There is an urgent need to implement the full provisions of the measures agreed by CITES Parties and to close those cross-border markets in Vietnam that service Chinese consumers. Failure to do so means the future outlook for Africa’s rhinos remains very bleak.”
