Rhino poaching continues amid COVID-19 outbreak
The country has lost 11 rhinos and one elephant to poaching since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said this week.
The Ministry’s spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said the most recent poaching incident involved two rhinos.
“I can confirm that two rhino carcasses were discovered in the Puros area on 13 April. At the time of the discovery the carcasses were at least a week to 2 weeks old. Investigations continue in this,” Muyunda said, adding that no suspects were arrested.
According to environment ministry statistics, the country has seen a steady decrease in rhino and elephant poaching in the past 3 years.
Meanwhile, in the latest summary of the wildlife crime statistics from 20 to 26 April a total number of three suspects were arrested on rhino poaching/trafficking charges.
