Namibia sees steady downward trend in rhino and elephant poaching
Reuters
January 7, 2021
See link
<https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-namibia-poaching/namibia-sees-steady-downward-trend-in-rhino-and-elephant-poaching-idUSKBN29C1LJ
WINDHOEK: Namibia saw a continued downward trend in rhino and elephant
poaching last year after stepping up patrols and sharply increasing fines,
the government said on Thursday.
Citing intensified intelligence operations by authorities and collaboration
between the government and the private sector, environment ministry
spokesman Romeo Muyunda said 30 rhinos had been poached last year compared
with 50 in 2019 and 79 in 2018.
Only 11 elephants were poached in 2020 compared with 13 a year earlier.
“The reduction is attributed to many factors, one of them is increased
patrols by our staff,” Muyunda said.
Collaborative efforts between the police, central intelligence, members of
the public, civil society and the private sector had also helped turn the
tide against poachers. Namibia has increased fines for poaching to 25
million Namibian dollars ($1.66 million) from 200,000 and prison sentences
have risen to 25 years from 20.
The southern African nation is home to the second-largest white rhino
population in the world after South Africa, according to non-profit
organisation Save the Rhino Trust. Namibia also holds one-third of the
world’s remaining black rhinos.
It is also home to the only free-roaming black rhinos left in the world,
who are growing in number after nearly becoming extinct some years ago from
poaching and drought.
Save the Rhino Trust estimates that there are over 200 free-roaming black
rhinos in Namibia, mainly in the north-east.
Rhino poaching has plagued southern Africa for decades, especially in South
Africa and Botswana, leading to anti-poaching programmes, including
de-horning and strict policing. Africa’s rhino population has been
decimated over the decades to feed demand for rhino horn, which, despite
being made of the same stuff as hair and fingernails, is prized in East
Asia as a supposed medicine and as jewellery.
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-namibia-poaching/namibia-sees-steady-downward-trend-in-rhino-and-elephant-poaching-idUSKBN29C1LJ
Namibia sees steady downward trend in rhino and elephant poaching
Reuters
January 7, 2021
See link
<https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-namibia-poaching/namibia-sees-steady-downward-trend-in-rhino-and-elephant-poaching-idUSKBN29C1LJ
> for photo.
WINDHOEK: Namibia saw a continued downward trend in rhino and elephant
poaching last year after stepping up patrols and sharply increasing fines,
the government said on Thursday.
Citing intensified intelligence operations by authorities and collaboration
between the government and the private sector, environment ministry
spokesman Romeo Muyunda said 30 rhinos had been poached last year compared
with 50 in 2019 and 79 in 2018.
Only 11 elephants were poached in 2020 compared with 13 a year earlier.
“The reduction is attributed to many factors, one of them is increased
patrols by our staff,” Muyunda said.
Collaborative efforts between the police, central intelligence, members of
the public, civil society and the private sector had also helped turn the
tide against poachers. Namibia has increased fines for poaching to 25
million Namibian dollars ($1.66 million) from 200,000 and prison sentences
have risen to 25 years from 20.
The southern African nation is home to the second-largest white rhino
population in the world after South Africa, according to non-profit
organisation Save the Rhino Trust. Namibia also holds one-third of the
world’s remaining black rhinos.
It is also home to the only free-roaming black rhinos left in the world,
who are growing in number after nearly becoming extinct some years ago from
poaching and drought.
Save the Rhino Trust estimates that there are over 200 free-roaming black
rhinos in Namibia, mainly in the north-east.
Rhino poaching has plagued southern Africa for decades, especially in South
Africa and Botswana, leading to anti-poaching programmes, including
de-horning and strict policing. Africa’s rhino population has been
decimated over the decades to feed demand for rhino horn, which, despite
being made of the same stuff as hair and fingernails, is prized in East
Asia as a supposed medicine and as jewellery.
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-namibia-poaching/namibia-sees-steady-downward-trend-in-rhino-and-elephant-poaching-idUSKBN29C1LJ
