This file photo shows a rhino is walking at the Kruger National Park in Cape Town, South Africa, Aug 30, 2015. (Xinhua/Gao Yuan)

 
Rhino poaching continues to decline in South Africa as additional steps are taken to effectively deal with the crime, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecy said on Monday.

Last year, 594 rhinos were poached nationally, compared with 769 in the previous year, Creecy said in her latest update on rhino poaching statistics.

This decline can be attributed to a combination of measures implemented in line with the government's strategy, the minister said.

These measures include improved capabilities to react to poaching incidents linked to better situational awareness and deployment of technology; improved information collection and sharing amongst law enforcement authorities; better regional and national cooperation and more meaningful involvement of the private sector, NGOs and donors, according to Creecy.

South Africa has recorded a decline for rhino poaching for five consecutive years, the minister said.

She called the decline "a reflection of the diligent work of the men and women who put their lives on the line daily to combat rhino poaching, often coming into direct contact with ruthless poachers."

Most of the rhino poaching took place in the Kruger National Park (KNP) in northeast South Africa, one of Africa's biggest game reserves.

Last year, a total of 327 rhino were lost as a result of poaching in the KNP where 2,014 incursions and poaching activities were recorded.

During 2019, a number of successes were also recorded through the number of arrests and convictions linked to rhino poaching and the illicit trade in rhino horns, Creecy said.

Last year, 178 alleged poachers were arrested within the KNP, while at the national level, 332 arrests were effected in respect of both rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking, said Creecy.

The success of the operations demonstrates the government's ability to work together in fighting wildlife trafficking in South Africa, said the minister.

Because wildlife trafficking constitutes a highly sophisticated form of serious transnational organized crime that threatens national security, the government will establish an integrated strategic framework for an intelligence-led, well-resourced, multidisciplinary and consolidated law enforcement approach to fight rhino poaching, Creecy said.

South Africa is home to about 85 percent of the world's rhino population, making it the center of the poaching crisis.