Over 100 rhinos killed during the first three months of 2025 in South Africa, data shows

Kakare killed over 100 rhinos in South Africa during the first three months of 2025, according to the South African Environment Minister Dion George.

From January 1 to March 31, 103 rhinos were killed, and 65 of them were dropped in South African national parks, George said in one statement On Monday 5 May.

“The loss of 103 rhinos for juggling during the first three months of 2025 is a sharp reminder of the relentless threat to our wildlife,” George said before he noted that some progress has been made. “But the absence of creep protection in four provinces shows that our targeted efforts produce results and we must build on this progress.”

In 2024, 420 rhinos were lost, with an average of 35 rhinos killed per month compared to the 2025 average of 34 per month. “Over the past decade, clig -backers have killed nearly 10,000 rhinos over Africa to feed the demand for horns on the black market,” International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports.

South Africa has the largest rhino, with approximately 16,000 to 18,000 black and white rhinos in the country, according to conservation groups. Black rhinos are listed as critically threatened. About 6,400 are left throughout Africa and 2,000 of these are in South Africa, per International rhino.

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The International Rhino Foundation said that Rhino Horn is “a lucrative, illegal being sought after well -established, organized and powerful transnational criminal syndicates.”

George’s May 5 -Review follows the 15 arrests and five charges against people for rhino and related crimes in South Africa. April 30, a man from Mozambique, Nelson Sambo, sentenced to 20 years in prison for rhino and related crimes. Mozambique, which borders on South Africa, is known to be an important transit and recruitment hub for poaching.

In August 2024, Mozambican -Crypting “Kingpin” Simon Ernesto Valoi was sentenced to 27 years in prison Animal life commission. He was convicted of running an operation flea rhinos in South Africa’s huge Kruger National Park – which borders Mozambique.