Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) has recently released the country’s latest poaching numbers, and they are the lowest they’ve been in years.
According to Tourism Update, in 2018 57 rhinos and 26 elephants were poached in Namibia. Of this, 120 suspected poachers were arrested.
Since the beginning of 2019, the country has had 19 rhinos and seven elephants illegally poached.
MET recorded 18 poaching incidents, where eight animals were killed, mainly on private and custodian farms. Six incidents of poaching occurred in Etosha National Park and the Waterberg Plateau Park.
According to Tourism Update, Save the Rhino International is optimistic that the overall number of poaching incidents by the end of 2019 will be the lowest since 2014.
Between 2015 and 2016, the poaching numbers went down by 61 incidents. 2017 went down by 44 and in 2018 the number again decreased by 57, reports Tourism Update.
Speaking to Tourism Update, Save the Rhino International CEO Cathy Dean said, ‘We believe the improvement is due to a number of proactive initiatives by Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, working in close co-operation with local NGOs like Save the Rhino Trust, community conservancies, private custodians, and the Namibian Police’s Protected Resource Department.’
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