Rhino poaching in Botswana spiked in the five years up to 2021, translating to about one-third of its population of the endangered species, the government said on Monday.
In all, 138 rhinos were slaughtered between 2018 and last year, Botswana Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism Philda Kereng told parliament.
This compares with two rhinos poached in the preceding five years from 2012 to 2017, official figures showed.
Statistics that Kereng presented to parliament showed that killings suddenly rose to seven in 2018, before spiking to 30 the following year. In 2020 the killings rose sharply again to 62, then halved to 33 in 2021 before dropping to six last year.
She attributed the jump in killings to “increased demand for rhino horn in the international market hence poachers” and also “a displacement of international criminal syndicates from other southern African states.”
Neighboring South Africa, the traditional rhino poaching hot spot, has in the past few years seen a steady decline in numbers of animals killed due to increased patrols in national parks that has forced hunters seeking horns to look elsewhere.
Poaching of rhino is driven by demand from Asia, where horns are used in traditional medicine for their supposed therapeutic effect.
Botswana does not publicly disclose its rhino population, but a document government presented before the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Panama last year showed there were an estimated 285 white rhinos and 23 black rhino across the country.
In 2019, the country was home to fewer than 400 rhinos, most of them roaming the grassy plains of the northern Okavango Delta, Rhino Conservation Botswana said.
According to another government document, Botswana had in the past few years started dehorning rhinos to reduce their appeal to poachers, but this has not had the desired effect, as the stump of horn left would still be valuable for the poachers.
Rangers, law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organizations have stepped up aerial and ground patrols to protect the rhino.
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