Namibia expressed concern on Monday about the number of rhinos poached, 28 since the start of the year, including 19 in its largest game reserve, Etosha National Park, which attracts many tourists each year. Of these 19, 10 were discovered during operations specifically aimed at removing their horns from these thick-skinned animals precisely to discourage poachers, who resell these horns, particularly in Asia, after having killed them.
Etosha is
“our emblematic park and has a high concentration of rhinoceroses for their conservation and other species”
in danger, underlines a press release from the Ministry of the Environment. In view of
“the current situation and its urgency”
, an assessment is being carried out in the park to
“determine the precise extent of the problem”
in order to
“strengthen our interventions and refine our strategies”
, promises the government.
87 rhinos killed in 2022
For comparison, 87 rhinos were killed in 2022 in the country, compared to 45 the previous year. Figures for 2023 were not immediately available.
In neighboring South Africa, where the majority of the world's rhinos live, nearly 500 individuals were killed last year by poachers, an 11% increase compared to 2022 despite government efforts to protect the animal.
Poaching in the region is fueled by demand from Asia, where rhino horns are used in traditional medicine for its supposed therapeutic effects. On the black market, their price, by weight, rivals that of gold or cocaine. The continent was home to nearly 23,300 of these large herbivores at the end of 2022, including some 15,000 in South Africa.