Rhino poaching in South Africa – a continuing cause for alarm
Dion George, South Africa’s Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries has revealed the latest rhino poaching figures for the country.
During 2024, a total of 420 rhinos were killed by poachers. The majority (320) were killed on state-owned lands, principally National Parks; the remainder on private land. This represents a fall from the previous year when a total of 499 rhinos were killed. However, the figures indicate an alarming rise in rhino poaching in some areas, particularly Kruger National Park which has been hard hit in recent years.
Rhinos are targeted by poachers for their horns, which are highly sought after in parts of Asia for their supposed medicinal value, even though they largely consist of keratin (much like our own fingernails). The high prices paid for rhino horn in illegal international markets have attracted the attention of organised criminal networks, who coordinate the poaching and trafficking.
The Minister rightly lauded the efforts of those charged with protecting wildlife. Rangers in particular work in very difficult conditions and often put their lives on the line to protect rhinos and other wildlife.
Disturbingly, however, the government has seen the need to conduct polygraph testing for rangers and other enforcement staff and had to discipline two ranger services employees in Kruger during 2024 in relation to rhino offences.
The figures serve to demonstrate that the rhino poaching crisis, which has stolen the lives of more than 10,000 rhinos over the past 15 years in South Africa alone, is far from over. Poachers have even been targeting rhinos that have been dehorned in order to obtain the remaining stump, given the value of the product.
Commenting on the news, Born Free’s Head of Policy Dr Mark Jones said: “While the drop in rhino poaching in 2024 compared to the previous year gives some encouragement that enforcement efforts may be having an effect, poaching continues to threaten rhino populations across South Africa and beyond. Every one of those rhinos has suffered and died so that criminal gangs can profit from the sadly misdirected belief among some Asian communities that rhino horn can cure cancer and other diseases.”
Despite a ban on international trade in rhino horn, and domestic trade bans in many countries, rhino horn can still be legally traded within South Africa. To make matters worse, the South African government included proposals in its draft rhino management plan, published last year, to enhance domestic trade in rhino horn and to develop a proposal to legalise international trade by 2030. Born Free has expressed its opposition to these proposals, and is urging the South African government to rethink.
Dr Jones continued: “Legalising rhino horn trade legitimises the product in the eyes of consumers, and the presence of legal markets in some countries complicates enforcement and incentivises poaching. South Africa must step up its efforts to protect its rhinos by banning domestic trade, declaring its support for the international ban, and working with consumer countries to dispel the myths surrounding rhino horn, in addition to cracking down on the criminal gangs who exploit them.”