KZN’s fight to protect its rhi

(Gallo Images / Rapport / Conrad Bornman)

KZN’s fight to protect its rhinos rages on: Park rangers kill two suspected poachers

If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned

KZN’s fight to protect its rhi

(Gallo Images / Rapport / Conrad Bornman)

Two suspected poachers in a gang of five were taken down during a dramatic shootout in the early hours of Monday morning, at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi game park.

The other three managed to flee the scene. It follows the brutal slaughter of six rhinos at the same reserve last week, which brought to light the shocking plight of rhinos across the province: 142 of them have been murdered for their ivory in 2017 alone.

In fact, the men are all believed to have been involved in that massacre. A spokesman for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Musa Mntambo told the media how the park rangers came to the rescue of the endangered rhinos.

“Our rangers observed a group of five poachers, and turned on their flashlights, simultaneously ordering the poachers to lay down their weapons. One poacher pointed a gun towards the field rangers, but he was out-gunned. The rangers fired first and two poachers were fatally wounded. A rifle was recovered.”

The fight to keep our rhinos safe has escalated rapidly within the last 12 months, as KwaZulu-Natal finds itself under siege by poaching operations. The province itself is expected to record 260 rhino slaughters by 2018 at the current rate.

Nationwide, around 6,000 rhinos have been killed in the last decade. That’s 30% of the total population, a statistic that is in drastic need of addressing.

Read: Extinction fears raised as poachers kill their 139th rhino of 2017 in KZN

The tally could have been significantly higher if not for the sharp response of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi’s rangers. On Saturday, a further three suspects armed with rifles, ammunition and an axe were arrested outside the park.

They are in court today to face charges of unlawful possession of a firearm. Now, I’m no expert, but surely they weren’t just hanging around a game reserve armed to the teeth to have a game of Scrabble?

The justice system must treat these opportunists with the same contempt they show our animals. Longer sentences and harsher punishments are needed to deter would-be poachers, and this is a chance for the long arm of the law to flex its muscles.