Rhino poaching 'on the rise again' in South Africa

Rhino poaching is on the rise again in South Africa since the government loosened coronavirus restrictions, Reuters news agency quotes wildlife parks as saying.

Lockdowns, put in place to slow the spread of coronavirus, had restricted the movements of would-be poachers and rhino horn smugglers.

Last year, 394 rhinos were killed for their horns in the country, a fall of 33% from the 594 recorded in 2019, the environment ministry said.

But since November "serious numbers" of rhino poaching has happened in Kruger National Park, Jo Shaw, the Africa Rhino Lead for WWF International Network is quoted as saying by Reuters.

She didn't put an exact figure on the amount of rhinos but South Africa's environmental ministry is expected to release its 2021 half-year poaching figures at the end of June, Reuters adds.

Rhino horns are in huge demand in Asian states such as China and Vietnam, where they are used in traditional medicines. Rhino horns are made of keratin - the same substance as fingernails - but it is worth more by weight than cocaine, and so traffickers go to great lengths to smuggle it out of Africa.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

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