Department records 16% decline in rhino poaching

South Africa’s anti-poaching and anti-trafficking efforts yielded a 16% overall decline in rhino poaching in 2025 compared to 2024, forestry, fisheries and the environment minister Willie Aucamp said on Tuesday.

“From January to December 2025, 352 rhinos were poached in South Africa, with 266 being killed on state properties and 86 on privately owned parks, reserves or farms,” Aucamp said.

This was a decrease of 68 in comparison to 420 rhinos poached in 2024.

Mpumalanga was the hardest hit province, losing 178 rhinos; an increase from the 92 lost in 2024.

The majority of the rhinos lost in Mpumalanga were in the Kruger National Park, which reported 175 rhinos poached in 2025. This is 87 more than the 88 rhinos killed in 2024.

Rhino poaching numbers in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in Kwazulu-Natal dropped from 198 in 2024 to 63 in 2025. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has attributed the significant reduction in poaching to closer collaboration between Ezemvelo and KwaZulu-Natal rhino owners through the Integrated Wildlife Zones Programme, as well as sustained support from key conservation partners, including WWF, Save the Rhino International, Wildlife ACT, and Peace Parks Foundation.

While Ezemvelo recognised that the strategic dehorning programme implemented in 2024 served as a critical catalyst in stabilising rhino poaching pressures and enabled urgent, targeted interventions, analysis of the 2025 outcomes confirmed that multiple complementary interventions were central to the reduction in poaching incidents.

Key among these were enhanced detection and early-warning capability achieved through the deployment and integration of advanced camera technologies and sensors, and the implementation of the integrity implementation plan, which included the successful polygraphing of all park law-enforcement personnel, reinforcing organisational integrity and public confidence.

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