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Rhino poaching still main concern in North West

Poached rhino lying down
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Private rhino breeders in North West are calling for tougher policing and prosecution to counter the growing number of rhino poached in the province.

While the country has seen a drop in rhino poaching numbers nationwide, significant increases have been noted in Limpopo and the North West.

Pilanesberg Game Reserve has suffered huge losses including 31 rhino in 2017 and 10 rhino within the first two months of the year.

Private Rhino breeder Jacques Swanepoel says, “The last four years we lost eight rhinos and only since April until now we have already lost about R1.2 million. Its three animals in one week, last year we caught three poachers and they received R500 bail so it’s just a losing battle for us.”

North West University Tourism Researcher, Prof Melville Saayman says, “We should have special police units that focus on this because these are syndicates and you need intelligence in order to curb this problem.  The same has to apply with the courts; you have got to have special courts that deal with these poachers in the same manner throughout the country which is not currently happening.”

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