Rhino poaching has noticeably increased in South Africa. Seville plans controversial entrance fees to tourist attractions

Rhino poaching has increased noticeably in South Africa. Last year, 499 white and black rhinos were illegally killed, South Africa’s Department of the Environment said on Tuesday. This is an increase of eleven percent compared to 2022, says Environment Minister Barbara Creecy.

The southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, where 325 cases were recorded, was particularly hard hit, the minister said. The hotspot is the province’s Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, where 307 illegally killed rhinos were discovered. However, in the famous Kruger National Park in the northeast of the country, rhino poaching fell by 37 percent in 2023, Creecy said.

Environmental organization WWF calls the new figures worrying. “The increase in poaching shows that the situation for African rhinos remains precarious,” said Katharina Hennemuth, an expert on poaching and illegal trade at WWF Germany. The figures prove that it has not been possible to noticeably and sustainably curb the demand for the animals’ valuable horn.

Although international trade in rhino horns is banned, smuggling of rhino horns to Asia, especially Vietnam and China, continues. There it is purchased at high prices for decoration or to be made into powder for traditional Chinese medicine, although there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an estimated 23,300 rhinos lived on the African continent last year. (saw/sda/dpa)