The government’s Environment Department said in a statement yesterday it is encouraged that arrests and convictions for rhino poaching appear to be increasing in 2012. There were 89 arrests in the first eleven weeks of this year.
The department says the worst hit area was the eastern Kruger Wildlife Park where 75 rhinos were killed for their horn since Jan. 1.
The government says despite a worldwide campaign against its use in traditional medicines in Asia, powdered rhino horn — almost identical to keratin in human finger nails — has soared in price on the illegal market since claims in Vietnam that it has cured cancer.
A campaigner fighting to save the beasts has warned rhinos will be wiped out from South Africa's wildlife parks by 2015 if poaching continues at its current rate.
And corruption among officials is contributing to the ongoing slaughter, said veterinary nurse Karen Trendler.
In a career spanning almost two decades, 50-year-old Trendler has raised 200 baby rhino orphans at a wildlife sanctuary in Pretoria, earning the nickname “Mama Rhino.”
She is planning to open a special treatment centre for them, warning that the situation has become critical.
