Support for the fight against rhino poaching
Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Willie Aucamp has pledged continued support to combat rhino poaching in Mpumalanga.
Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Willie Aucamp has pledged continued support to combat rhino poaching in Mpumalanga following a sharp rise in cases in the province during 2025.
While South Africa recorded an overall 16% decrease in rhino poaching incidents nationally, Mpumalanga bucked the trend, losing 178 rhinos in 2025 – nearly double the 92 recorded in 2024.
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The hardest-hit area was the Kruger National Park, which saw close to a 100% increase in poaching incidents compared to the previous year.
Cross-Border and Weather Factors
According to the SABC, briefing the media at Kruger National Park, Aucamp attributed the spike partly to instability in neighbouring Mozambique.
“Last year in Mozambique, they had unrest just after the elections and we immediately saw a spike in the poaching events that took place,” he said.
He added that extreme weather events also played a role.
“We saw it a little bit less this year, but we saw it after the floods. Right after the floods, the rivers prohibited access, but when the rivers subsided a bit and we had roads that we could not access, we saw an increase in the attempts of poaching,” Aucamp said.
Ongoing Enforcement Efforts
The minister said authorities would continue strengthening anti-poaching operations, including enhanced ranger deployments, cross-border cooperation and intelligence-led enforcement to dismantle trafficking networks.
Despite progress nationally, conservation authorities have warned that organised criminal syndicates remain active, particularly in areas bordering Mozambique, which has historically been a key transit route for rhino horn trafficking.
Aucamp reiterated government’s commitment to protecting South Africa’s rhino population, describing the fight against poaching as critical to biodiversity conservation and the country’s tourism economy.
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