Rhino Poaching 2014

[Sprocky]

1215 for 2014

1215 is the emergency frequency in aviation, not a good number to display in either scenarios!!!

[Richprins]

SANParks Kruger – 827
SANParks Mapungubwe - 1
Limpopo – 110
KZN -99
Mpum – 83
North West – 65
E Cape – 15
Gauteng – 5
F State – 4
N Cape - 5
W Cape – 1



Total for the country – 1215

[Penga Ndlovu]

Funny thing is that Limpopo has been on 110 for a few months now officially.
Why nobody knows, but it is quite a few more.
The official DEA figures will be around 1240.
Mine are already above that.

[Toko]

Lowvelder: Rhino poaching statistics worsen

Time is running out to safe rhino from extinction
9 January 2015 13:00

MBOMBELA – The tide has not turned on rhino poaching in South Africa as yet. The latest statistic of 1 215 poaching incidents shows an increase of 211 rhino that were killed for their horns at the hands of poachers during 2014.
The total for the Kruger National Park (KNP) for the last year stands on 827 and it is still the hardest hit of all the South African National Parks (SANParks).
Lowvelder received the latest statistics from an independent source, and it has not yet been confirmed by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA).
The latest official statistic released by DEA was 1155 on 18 December. It shows that 60 rhino were poached since the 18th over the past 13 days of 2014. Of this 47 of these incidents took place in KNP.
Field rangers in Kruger confirmed that on average 3 rhino were killed in the park every day.
A senior field ranger, who does not want to be identified, said the scourge of rhino poaching was affecting the mood of all the rangers in the park negatively, but he would not confirm that rangers were becoming more and more ruthless when coming face to face with poachers.
This sinister picture becomes even darker when one looks at the total number of almost 4 000 rhino killed for their horns since 2008.
In 2010 a great national strategy for the safety and security of rhino in South Africa was developed when the National Joint Operations and Intelligence Structure was created. It seems though that in the past five years little has come of it.
Since 2010 there have been numerous calls to prioritise the issue, by:
• Creating a dedicated intelligence desk to develop strategies that a national structure can coordinate
• Having dedicated prosecutors hearing poaching cases
• Listing poaching to a level 5 offence, which will make application for bail very difficult and for repeat offenders
• Centralising legislation concerning rhino farming, hunting and the permit system
• Initiating a full forensic audit into all permits issued since 2010 in every province and maintain a database of all hunter profiles
• Setting formal written hot-pursuit agreements with neighbouring governments in place
• Signing extradition treaties to prosecute suspects in South Africa
• Reinstituting at least two South African National Defence Force personnel every 10 kilometres along the 365-kilometre border with Mozambique in the KNP.
Very little of these calls have been executed so far and various stakeholders are blaming the government.
Its call of “Together we can do more” is wearing thin, according to deputy DA shadow minister for environmental affairs, Ms Terry Stander.
“If there is political will, we will find a way to combat rhino poaching in South Africa and protect our heritage as one of the conservation capitals of the world,” she said.
Every year since 2010, the rate of poaching incidents has increased by more than a third and that trend is still continuing.
Activists and conservationists agree that time is of the essence in the battle for the protection and survival of rhino and that changes to legislation, justice, conservation and political will should be made as a matter of urgency.
If not rhino populations will show a negative growth, as seen in many many countries in the world and in Africa.
As the late Dr Ian Player said, “Let us not look back in anger, but forward with fury”.

[Richprins]

The extradition thing is from us!

[Mel]

Rhinos 'could become extinct in just over 10 years time' if poaching continues
RHINOS could become extinct in just over 10 years time if poaching continues at current rates, according to a leading wildlife charity.
By Levi Winchester - Published: 11:00, Sat, January 17, 2015

A shocking 1,215 rhinos were poached in South Africa alone during the last year, according to South Africa's National Wildlife Crime Reaction Unit.

This alarming figure is DOUBLE the amount that were poached in South Africa three years ago, and it has risen a staggering 9,000 per cent in just seven years.

There are now less than 30,000 rhinos in the wild and there are fears they will be wiped off the planet by 2026 if the illegal slaughter continues at its rapid rate.

Soaring demand for their horns from Asia has led to 2014 being branded "the worst poaching year on record" by international wildlife charity Save The Rhino.

Katherine Ellis, Office and Communications Manager for Save The Rhino, said: "According to South Africa’s National Wildlife Crime Reaction Unit, 1,215 rhinos were poached in South Africa alone during 2014, making last year the worst poaching year on record.

"This would represent over a 9,000 per cent increase in the number of South African rhinos poached since 2007, when just 13 rhinos were killed."

The official rhino poaching statistics for 2014 are expected to be released this month by the South African Department of Environmental affairs (DEA), but the figure the National Wildlife Crime Reaction Unit have already recorded shows that more rhinos are being poached year after year.

A total number of 333 rhinos were killed in South Africa in 2010, followed by 448 in 2011, according to previous DEA figures.

This number jumped to 668 rhino slaughters in 2012 to finally, a devastating 1,004 rhinos being poached in 2013 and the expected 1,215 last year.

Save The Rhino blamed one factor of this increase in rhino deaths on a soaring demand for their horns, particularly in Vietnam where the ivory is used in traditional medicine.

"Rhinos are being slaughtered for their horns by ruthless criminal syndicates," Ms Ellis explained.

"The horns are mainly trafficked to Asia, where they fetch huge prices on the illegal black market.

"The demand for rhino horn has soared over recent years, especially in Vietnam, which has been identified as the largest user country of rhino horn.

"Although rhino horn has no scientific medical benefits, consumers are using it to treat a wide range of conditions, from cancer to hangovers, and due to its high value it is now also used as a status symbol by wealthy individuals."

Rhinos are usually found in grassland or savannah habitat and have a lifespan of up to 40 years in the wild.

However, their peaceful life has been disturbed by poachers who are known to shoot rhinos in the head, chest and legs to immobilise the animal before removing their horns with chainsaws, axes and other sharp objects. The animals are then cruelly left to bleed to death.

At the beginning of the 20th century there were 500,000 rhinos across Africa and Asia, according to Save The Rhino.

This number dramatically fell to 70,000 by 1970 and finally to around just 29,000 left in the wild today.

But if they continue to be poached at their current rates, Save The Rhino warned that they could become extinct in the wild by as soon as 2026.

"Depending on the rate that poaching increases, and also the breeding rate of rhinos, overall rhino deaths could overtake births sometime between 2015 and 2021, which would push rhino populations into decline," said Ms Ellis.

"Sadly if poaching continues to increase at current rates, rhinos could be effectively extinct in the wild as soon as 2026."

But there are crucial moves currently underway which aim at reversing the rhino decline.

These include attempts at thwarting poachers and conservation programmes to help protect the rhinos from both human and natural danger.

However, Save The Rhino stressed that attitudes need to be changed through awareness campaigns in order to reduce the demand for rhino horn.

"Important steps are underway to reverse this projected decline, however there is no silver bullet to combat the rhino poaching and a range of strategies are needed; including well trained and equipped anti-poaching units on the ground, community conservation programmes to ensure that locals receive benefits from wildlife, increased law enforcement efforts and government action on an international level," said Ms Ellis.


"Pressure is particularly needed on Mozambique, where the majority of rhino poachers come from.

"It is also essential to continue work to reduce the demand for rhino horn, through behaviour change and awareness campaigns in Asian countries, particularly Vietnam."

In other attempts to protect the species, latest figures from the DEA show that more people are being arrested in South Africa in connection to rhino poaching than ever before.

Last year some 367 people were arrested in relation to rhino poaching, compared to the 343 arrests in 2013 and the 267 in 2012.

Out of the approximate 29,000 rhinos left in the world, just over 20,000 of these - namely the White rhino, of which there are 20,405 left - are found in southern parts of Africa.

As well as this, there are also a little over 5,000 Black rhinos roaming the continent.

But across the globe, there remains three species of rhino found in Asia.

Two of which, the Javan rhino in Indonesia and the Sumatran rhino, also in Indonesia as well as Malaysia, are critically endangered - a category which means the highest risk of extinction in the wild.

There are also an estimated 3,333 Greater one-horned rhinos in India and Nepal, but their figures remain threatened by heightened risks of poaching.

Other threats to rhinos in Asia include habitat loss and challenges when breeding, due to low population levels.

"The Javan rhino is critically endangered with only an estimated 50 to 58 individuals thought to survive in an isolated population in Indonesia," said Ms Ellis.

"The Sumatran rhino is also critically endangered with less than 100 animals surviving, found mainly in Sumatra (Indonesia) and a few in Sabah (Malaysia)."

She added: "There is still a high poaching threat facing all of these species, particularly the Greater one-horned rhino, with many recent poaching losses in India.

"However the main threats facing the Javan and Sumatran rhinos are habitat loss from human activities and breeding challenges due to such low population levels."

[J-Lee]

[Toko]

Official DEA year 2014 stats:




DEA puts up these stats from 20 November 2014 in today's media release

https://www.environment.gov.za/mediarel ... aching2015

[Mel]

How's that possible??? People aren't completely dumb, especially those who follow this crisis.
And it's quite easy to realize that those are old numbers.

Rock bottom in terms of being truthful?!

[Richprins]

During 2014, 1 215 rhinos were killed. This is a rise in the number of poached rhino from 1 004 in 2013.


From Minister Molewa's release today?