KwaZulu-Natal now has the unwanted title of being South Africa’s most targeted rhino poaching province.

The province, according to Forestry, Fisheries and Environment minister Dion Georg, lost 232 rhinos to poachers in 2024, with him, according to a statement, calling this “a notable decline” from the 325 in 2023.

All told, South Africa’s rhino population dropped by 420 last year, continuing a national downward trend in the loss of this Big Five species. In 2023 499 rhinos were poached – 79 more than in 2024.

Three hundred and twenty rhinos were killed on what the Minister termed “State properties” which presumably include national parks such as Kruger and provincial reserves such as the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife flagship Hluhluwe-iMfolozi. A hundred privately owned rhino fell to poachers nationally last year.

The KwaZulu-Natal “significant reduction” George attributes to the provincial conservation agency’s dehorning project. A Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) statement has him saying: “the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) funded programme, implemented between October and November 2024, had an immediate impact, with monthly poaching numbers dropping from 35 in April to fewer than 10 per month between May and September 2024”.

“In October, however, poaching syndicates adapted their tactics and began targeting dehorned rhinos, leading to a sudden spike in poaching incidents in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and in that month alone, the province lost 27 rhinos. Fortunately, the provincial anti-rhino poaching team responded swiftly, intercepting the new syndicate and preventing further losses. These considerable efforts resulted in the province ultimately achieving a 67% decline in rhino poaching over the eight months.”

The Kruger National Park, straddling Limpopo and Mpumalanga and bordering Mozambique and Zimbabwe, reported 88 poached rhinos in 2024 – 10 more than the previous year.

“Up until the end of November 2024, rhino losses reported in the Kruger National Park stood at 67, but a significant escalation in rhino poaching activities was experienced during December 2024 and this has continued into January 2025. A total of 21 rhino were reported poached in Kruger National Park during December 2024 and a further 17 were reported poached during January 2025. This escalation in rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park is of great concern,” George said.

National conservation agency SANParks along with its KwaZulu-Natal provincial equivalent, continue with “actions and initiatives” to counter rhino poaching in identified hotspot areas. These include polygraph testing for staff, information sharing and co-operation with stakeholders ranging from Department of Home Affairs (DHA) customs officials as well as Border Management Authority (BMA) inspection staff.

Minister George acknowledged some “good convictions” in rhino poaching and related cases while expressing concern at the length of time taken to finalise cases. “Expediting these cases through our courts as well as vigorously opposing bail will no doubt result in safeguarding more rhino,” the statement has him saying.

He pointed to an 18-year sentence handed to Francis Kipampa as “sending out a strong message”.

“Not only are we focusing on arresting those involved in poaching our rhino and trafficking the horn, but we are disrupting the higher up levels in the value chain. This project [Blood Orange] is an excellent example of the integrated and multi-disciplinary approach to investigating organised crime linked to wildlife and ensuring that we target corruption, money laundering and the financial crimes associated with these activities. More of these focussed investigations are needed as we continue to implement the National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking.

“As we move into the second year of implementation of this strategy, partnerships within government, with authorities in transit and destination countries as well as with the private sector and non-governmental organisations remain critical. We need to continue to integrate and focus our effort through our existing programmes and forums, including the Integrated Wildlife Zones Initiative (IWZI), the work of the South African Anti-Money Laundering Integrated Task Force, the Illegal Wildlife Trade Task Force and various task teams residing under the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) Priority Committee on Wildlife Trafficking.”