Africa News
South Africa to add extra rangers to prevent rhino poaching
Jan 16, 2012, 15:45 GMT
Johannesburg - South Africa will add an extra 150 rangers to a squad focused on preventing rhino poaching at Kruger National Park, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa announced on Monday.
The move comes after statistics revealed that 2011 was the worst year on record for rhinos in South Africa, with at least 448 killed by poachers. About half of them were killed at the Kruger park.
Since the start of the month, another 11 have been shot dead in the country, which has more than 20,000 of the animals - making it home to the largest population of rhinos in the world.
'The poaching of our rhino is a great source of concern to the government,' Molewa was quoted as saying by the SAPA news agency.
With the additional manpower, the Kruger team will be boosted to 650 rangers. The park, which at more than 19,000 square kilometres is one of the largest reserves in Africa, is a major draw for tourism.
Rhinos are often poached by crime syndicates for their horns. Demand for illegally sourced horn is growing, in part due to beliefs in eastern Asia that it has medicinal benefits.
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