Asian demand for valuable rhino horn caused the number killed to jump by 21% to 1,215, despite increased efforts to protect them

The number of rhinos killed in South Africa last year jumped by a fifth, marking a new record for poaching, driven by Asian demand for rhino horn which is more valuable by weight than gold.

A total of 1,215 rhinos were killed in 2014, statistics published by the environment ministry on Thursday showed, in what environmentalists said was now a “do or die situation”.

The number of rhinos killed by poachers – 827 of which were in the country’s famous Kruger national park in 2014 – has risen rapidly in the last decade.

Just 13 were killed in 2007, but demand from a growing affluent middle class in Asia has seen new records broken every year, with 1,004 killed in 2013. In Vietnam, ground horn sold as rhino horn wine is erroneously viewed to have health benefits and is seen as a status symbol.

Rhino poaching statisics.

Tom Milliken, elephant and rhino programme leader at illegal wildlife trade NGO Traffic, said: “Another year of poaching like 2014 and it becomes increasingly difficult to see a positive conservation future for South African rhinos. We’re facing a ‘do or die’ situation right now.”



Traffic said the reason poaching is continuing to rise, despite increased numbers of rangers and other efforts, was complex. It cited corruption and judicial delays in prosecutions, and said strong political will from South Africa and Mozambique – as well as the Asian countries that are the destination for much of the horn – was needed.

Edna Molewa, the South African environment minister, who has previously warned that the poaching crisis is now so severe it poses a threat to the country’s tourism, said “the figure remains worryingly high”. She said over 100 rhinos had been moved to more secure locations to reduce poaching. The environment ministry reported 386 rhino crime arrests last year.

Dr Carlos Drews, WWF’s director of global species programme, said: “Killing on this scale shows how rhino poaching is being increasingly undertaken by organised criminal syndicates. The country’s brave rangers are doing all they can to protect the rhinos but only a concerted global effort can stop this illegal trade. This includes South Africa scaling up its efforts to stop the poaching and Vietnam taking urgent measures to reduce consumer demand.”



Last year, more than forty countries signed the ‘London Declaration’, an accord designed to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. It was agreed at a high-profile summit held at Lancaster House, and attended by the Prince of Wales, who called the trade “a grave threat not only to the wildlife and the people who protect them, but also to the security of so many nations.”

Governments are due to meet in Botswana on 3 March to review how the actions agreed at the London conference – which include addressing corruption and recruiting more law enforcement officers – should be implemented.