Denel with SANParks on rhino poaching

2012-11-06 21:14

(Green Renaissance)

Johannesburg - SA National Parks (SANParks) on Tuesday joined forces with Denel in the fight against rhino poaching.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by the two parties and will result in Denel using its law enforcement technology to fight against rhino poaching.

The technology was currently used by Denel to combat perlemoen poaching in the country's west coast.

"It is our belief that this technology will significantly benefit the whole country in the fight against the bleeding of our rhino population.

"We are convinced that this technology will build the ability to detect and deter would-be poachers and provide early warnings to law enforcement officials deployed on the ground," said Denel CEO Riaz Saloojee.

Won't lose the war

SANParks CEO David Mabunda said the initiative would bring back the confidence of the South African public as the high number of animals killed would be reduced significantly.

"Though we admit that we have lost a few battles, and suffered a few bloody noses, we have no intention of losing this war. We will fight until the last man or woman standing to save the nation's heritage," he said.

Details of the technology could not be revealed for security reasons.

On Saturday, six rhinos were killed and three wounded at a farm in Amalia near Schweizer-Reneke in the North West.

SANParks said the country had lost 528 rhinos since the beginning of 2012 and 320 of them were killed in the Kruger National Park (KNP).

The memorandum of understanding was seen as a vital collaboration between two state entities, entailing skills and technology transfer from Denel to SANParks operational personnel in order to protect the country's heritage.

Meanwhile, Congress of the People (Cope) spokesperson Beryl Ferguson described the recent killing of rhino as "out of control".

"The daily escalating number of rhino poached in South Africa is a serious cause for concern as it threatens to extinct this valuable animal from our farms, reserves and our lives."

- SAPA