The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment announced that 24 rhino carcasses have tragically been found in South Africa since December 1 2021.
As of December 14, the provinces have reported carcasses as follows:
KwaZulu-Natal (6)
Western Cape (4)
Mpumalanga (7)
Kruger National Park (7)
The Department expressed that in the first 14 days of December, nine alleged poachers have been arrested, and condemns the continued poaching of these iconic species for their horn.
They also commend the work being done by rangers and security officials over the festive period to stem the killing of rhino, and will provide an update on the total number of rhino killed for their horn in 2021 early in 2022.
Members of the public are encouraged to assist with any information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of poachers by calling 10111 or the environmental crime hotline on 0800 205 005.
Meanwhile, four suspects have been arrested in connection with the massacred Inverdoorn rhinos.
“As previously mentioned the South African Police Service, Cape Nature, forensic investigator Wayne Stoltz – who was instrumental in solving the 2011 Aquila poaching incident, private investigators and polygraph team of TPServices have worked around the clock since the first notification of the incident on Wednesday night,” said Searl Derman, owner of Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve.
“We have been made aware of the arrests that happened very shortly after the crime… we were not in a position to make announcements in fear of it handicapping the investigation, future arrests, etc.”, Derman added.
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Picture: Aquila Collection