Snaring has surged 200% in the Kruger National Park, also causing lion extinctions elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. But a magistrate has ruled that two men, apprehended with snares in a poaching hotspot, deserve nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Kruger National Park – The role of poverty, desperation and criminal networks in snaring has raised alarm bells in national media, with calls for transparency and action by the Democratic Alliance (DA). The crisis in hotspots like Skukuza, Pretoriuskop and Pafuri has escalated dramatically, producing a 200% increase since the onset of the pandemic. At least 2,400, 4,450 and 7,270 traps were removed in the park in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively, according to Environment Minister Barbara Creecy's Parliamentary replies to the DA's Hannah Winkler. On Wednesday, 15 November, however, two accused snare poachers were let off the hook by the Bushbuckridge Magistrate Court after being found guilty of possessing dangerous weapons and "wrongfully, unlawfully and intentionally" entering a national park.