Kruger Park should urgently fill over 80 vacant ranger posts to combat rhino poaching

SANParks has apparently only filled five of its 87 vacant ranger posts at the Kruger National Park, despite the rangers being essential in the fight against rhino poaching.

”It is now essential that more funding be prioritized towards filling the remaining 82 vacant ranger posts as a matter of urgency, to assist in the ongoing fight against rampant rhino poaching and the associated criminal syndicates,” Dave Bryant, DA Shadow Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, said in a press statement on Tuesday.

The rhino population of the Kruger National Park continues to plummet as a result of international criminal syndicates smuggling horns into China, said Bryant.

The DA revealed the number of vacant posts following a response given to a DA Parliamentary question last month. In March 2022, the DA was told in a previous answer that 87 posts were vacant and that there were no immediate plans to fill them.

According to the DA, filling these posts will help to contribute significantly towards fighting the rampant poaching of wildlife, in particular endangered wild rhino.

“There can be no excuse for not filling these critical positions. The ANC government cannot continue to leave these positions vacant while South Africa’s remaining wild rhinos are butchered and their body parts shipped off to China. The DA calls on Minister Barbara Creecy to ensure that funding is made available to fill the remaining 82 ranger posts at Kruger National Park,” said the statement.