Elephant poaching rises in South Africa

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Elephant poaching rises in South Africa

9:42 CAT | 25 Jan 2018

The numbers of elephants killed by poachers in South Africa has jumped by almost a third, according to official figures.

A total of 67 elephants were poached from Kruger National Park, and one in Kwa-Zulu Natal province, last year.

This is a leap from 46 elephants last year.

As a result, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said in a statement that “specific risk areas have been identified and strategies to address the threat are being adapted and implemented”.

However, there was good news: the number of rhinos killed for their horns dropped from 1,054 in 2016 to 1,028 in 2017.

Ms Molewa said just 504 rhino were poached from Kruger National Park last year, a 24% reduction from the 662 in 2016.

But poachers, she said, had instead turned their attention to five other regions – KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, Free State and North West provinces.

Source: BBC