Rhino poaching: Minister must investigate rhino grave
The horrors of the assault on South Africa's rhino population reached a new level this week when a rhino grave, containing the carcasses of 17 rhinos, was discovered in the Letaba Ranch provincial park, a reserve run by the Limpopo provincial government (see report). The reserve is alongside South Africa's premier national park, the Kruger Park, and there is no boundary fence, thus allowing the free flow of animals between these two protected areas. It is therefore plausible that rhinos from the Kruger Park have been killed in Letaba.
Notwithstanding an investigation by Limpopo officials, I have today written to the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs asking her to instigate an inquiry as well into who is responsible for these poaching incidents and how it is possible that this rhino grave could have gone unnoticed for so long. The fact that the grave is close to the Kruger, should be of specific concern to the national Minister, as SANParks, which runs Kruger, reports to her Department.
The assault on South Africa's rhino population has been relentless during 2010. In fact, this year has been an ‘annus horribilis' for conservation in South Africa, with approximately 270 rhinos killed thus far. While law enforcement officials have made many high-profile arrests, the demand for rhino horn is insatiable, which means that the emergence of new poachers is a constant threat. Unless the current trajectory of rhino poaching is considerably reversed, the current positive growth in the rhino population is going to turn negative by 2013.
The question does need to be asked whether, in the case of the Letaba, any employees of the state were involved in poaching. How could no one have discovered this grave previously, if it was not for the possibility that staff may have turned a blind eye to goings-on in the park, or at worst, may have been actively involved in these acts of poaching? Alternatively, there has been such a considerable dereliction of duty in this provincial park that staff do not even patrol the park and have lost control of what happens in the park. Either way, employees of the state need to be held accountable.
The lack of security in Letaba Ranch directly threatens the Kruger Park. The Minister, who is new to her job, needs to investigate, hold her provincial counterparts to account, and must send a strong signal that she will take a tougher stance on rhino poaching than her predecessor ever did. Most importantly, she needs to reassure the public that she is going to win the war against rhino poachers.
Statement issued by Gareth Morgan MP, Democratic Alliance Shadow Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, November 19 2010
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