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The High Court in Kimberley has ruled that registered rhino conservation breeding operations can now legally sell rhino horns overseas. The case, brought by Derek Lewitton and Wicus Diedericks against the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, could change the future of conservation and help stop poaching. "It's not over yet. This fight now turns into a war for the hearts and minds of the public. And we need to fight hard; we can’t give that up like we had in the past," said Lewitton.

The global black market for rhino horn is worth billions, built on poverty at the bottom, greed at the top and violence in between. It is one of the world’s most entrenched illegal trades. Derek Lewitton, owner of Black Rock Rhino Reserve in Limpopo, was caught in the middle. On 22 December 2023, he tells us, police raided his farm, accusing him of holding illegal horn, rhino carcasses, and unlicensed firearms. These were the same officers he alleges he once asked to help him fight poaching cartels.

Bush burning as a means of hunting was historically common in many African societies. However, while modernisation and technological innovation have significantly reduced the practice, it is still carried out in some areas, including conservation centres. One such area is Ghan's Mole National Park (MNP), where some people burn parts of the forests to carry out illegal hunting expeditions, otherwise known as poaching.

Gqeberha police arrested a 28-year-old man on Wednesday after allegedly discovering perlemoen with an estimated street value of R3m in the bakkie he was driving.

Sibusiso Mahlaule (29), George Manyise (30) and Rodrigues Ngobeni (34) did not escape the might of the law and were sentenced by the Skukuza Regional Court for poaching on Friday March 11. The three were caught by field rangers in Kruger National Park on April 18, 2021. It was reported that the rangers, working at Pretoriuskop, had discovered some tracks that brought the presence of intruders to their attention.