Pretoria: A total of 146 rhinos have been poached in South Africa since the beginning of the year, the Department of Environmental Affairs said on Wednesday.

“The Kruger National Park remains hardest hit by rhino poaching, having lost 95 rhino since 1 January 2014,” the department’s spokesperson Albi Modise said.

Fourteen rhino have been poached in the North West, 14 in Limpopo, 10 in KwaZulu-Natal and six in Mpumalanga.

The number of people arrested for rhino poaching-related offences has risen to 44.

Twenty poachers were arrested in the Kruger National Park and 10 in KwaZulu-Natal alone.

The department urged South Africans to report incidents of poaching and tip-offs to the anonymous tip-off lines 0800 205 005, 08600 10111 or Crime-Line on 32211.

SOURCE: South African Official News