South Africa: Move afoot to stomp out poaching


A Moratorium on rhino hunting could be on the cards to prevent “unscrupulous individuals” from manipulating the permit system, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said on Monday.

“Illegal hunting and the abuse of the permit system may be the main threats that could impact on the survival of rhinos in the wild in the near future,” she added.

Molewa said provincial conservation authorities issued permits to hunt rhinos for sport “and an unfortunate challenge we are facing… is the abuse of the system by unscrupulous individuals”.

Speaking at a briefing on anti-poaching initiatives, she said any moratorium would be preceded by public consultations, including with game farmers and private parks.

A decision on whether to start that process may be made within two months, when the minister and nine MECs have their regular meeting. Asked how soon a moratorium could be in place, Molewa said: “It is quite difficult to say, definitely it will not be within a year”.

At the briefing it emerged that 143 permits to hunt rhinos had been granted this year, up from the 129 last year. The business generated an estimated R49 million in 2009 and was an important tourism drawcard, especially in poor rural areas.

South Africa has an estimated 18 800 white rhinos and 2 200 black rhinos – representing respectively 93 percent and 35 percent of the continent’s rhinos.

This year alone, 279 rhinos had been killed for their horns, the majority in the Kruger National Park (169), followed by Limpopo (45) and KwaZulu-Natal (21).

There have been 165 poaching-related arrests this year, up from 155 last year.

While stepped-up border security and additional anti-poaching measures had reduced the number of rhino killings in the Kruger Park, it appeared that poachers were now increasingly targeting private game reserves.

“Overall the number of incidents was reduced… There were a few incidents that have happened over the past two weeks where we lost four rhinos,” South African National Parks CEO David Mabunda said yesterday.

However, the anti-poaching efforts had come at a cost: three years ago, the Kruger Park spent R160m; today the figure is R450m. And that amount did not include expenditure by the police, the defence force or other entities in the fight against poaching.

“It is actually costing us a lot of money – seriously so,” said Mabunda.

Meanwhile, Molewa said diplomatic co-operation with Vietnam, a transit country for poached rhino horn, which is overwhelmingly destined for South East Asia, and closer working relations with Mozambique were crucial to rooting out poaching.

In addition to considering a moratorium, the government was also looking at the feasibility of dehorning rhinos.

A study already under way should be completed in three months’ time.

And the call for proposals on two other studies – the international global market for rhino horn and the viability of legalising the trade – closes on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the government remained tightlipped on stockpiles of rhino horn, which had been audited, saying it was a “security issue”.

The Environmental Affairs Department’s booklet “National Strategy for the Safety and Security of Rhinoceros Populations in South Africa” states that “from 2008 onwards, rhino poaching has escalated at an alarming rate, as has the leakage of both legal and illegal rhino horns held in the various private and government stockpiles”.

Yet no figures on stockpiles were released at Monday’s briefing, with Molewa again citing security concerns.

And Mabunda added: “There’s a surplus in possession of the private sector… The leakages and investigations are related to that.”

He assured that the state’s stockpiles were safe.