Botswana has released rhino poaching figures
Botswana has lost 138 rhinoceros to poachers since 2018, compared to only two poached from 2012 to 2017. This is according to Cabinet Minister Mabuse Pule, who answered a parliamentary question on behalf of Botswana's Minister of Environment and Tourism Philda Kereng on 19 February 2023. In addition to the 138 rhinoceroses that had been poached since 2018, 76 died of natural causes in the last five years. Mr Pule further announced that 33 rhino were killed by poachers in 2021, while Botswana lost only six rhinos to poaching in 2022.
nb. According to a Briefing Document for Delegates to CITES SC74 (Lyon, March 2022), titled "The Rise of Rhinoceros Poaching in Botswana", by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Botswana lost six rhinos to poaching from 2006 to 2017. 11 rhinos were killed by poachers in 2018, 30 in 2019 and 62 in 2020. This is according to government figures.
2018: 11 rhinos killed by poachers in Botswana
2019: 30
2020: 62
2021: 33
2022: 6
Total: 142
