No permits for Vietnamese rhino hunters: Molewa

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam has been asked to verify that white rhino trophies exported from South Africa to Vietnam were still in the possession of the hunters, "the outcome of this process will allow us to refuse all applications for white rhinoceros hunting by foreign hunters [from] Vietnam," Molewa said.

Times Live reports that Molewa said the number of rhinos poached in South Africa this year stands at an "alarming" 159. "The Kruger National Park continues to bear the brunt of these losses, with the rhinos poached in the park having reached a staggering total of 95," she said, adding that this is no longer only an environmental management problem. "It has become a matter in which we have involved all law-enforcement agencies."

Molewa said 90 people had been arrested for poaching as the government was looking at new initiatives in the fight against rhino poaching. This reflected "the coordinated enforcement efforts across the government aimed at addressing the scourge of rhino poaching." She said the first group of 75 of the 150 new rangers to be deployed in the Kruger Park is currently undergoing a six-week, intense paramilitary training course. The fence on the eastern boundary of the park was too expensive and difficult to maintain, she concluded.

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