Overview

• Researchers dehorned 2,284 rhinos across 11 reserves near Kruger National Park from 2017 to 2023 and recorded a 78 percent drop in poaching.
• Dehorning represented just 1.2 percent of the region’s $74 million anti-poaching budget and outperformed other measures in reducing illegal kills.
• Poachers have adapted by hacking horn stumps and regrowth, indicating that dehorning must be conducted at regular intervals.
• Official data show at least 34 rhinos continue to be killed every month in South Africa despite new conservation measures.
• South Africa hosts more than 16,000 rhinos, including critically endangered black rhinos, whose horns fetch prices rivaling gold and cocaine in Asian markets.