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South African National Park reinforces security
World-famous Kruger park hires more Rangers.

Environment Minister Edna Molewa has announced that South Africa is recruiting another 150 extra Rangers to increase security at the world-famous Kruger National Park in an attempt to combat record levels of poaching rhinos for their horns.

Poaching is a serious problem for the Park. Eight rhinos were found dead in the Park in just one day last week. 448 rhinos were killed in South Africa as a whole last year, with half of those killings occurring in Kruger National Park itself.

Kruger National Park's Rangers are a trained armed force and are one of the few Park Ranger organisations in the world to boast their own air arm. 15 alleged poachers were shot dead and 131 more were arrested last year. This increase in strength will bring the total number of Rangers in the Park to 650, thus bringing their full complement in line with that of a light infantry battalion. A 150 kilometre (95 mile) electric barrier will also be built along the border with neighbouring Mozambique, due to the frequency with which poachers enter the park from across that border.

Growing demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam has been blamed for the recent spike in rhino killings, and the weight-for-weight price of rhino horn has surpassed that of gold. Rhino horn is powdered for use in traditional medicines as a remedy for various illnesses including cancer, but the practice has been proven to have no actual scientific merit. Another destination for poached horns is the Middle East, where they are used to form handles for ornamental daggers.

South Africa has been hit particularly badly by the upsurge in poaching because it has the largest concentration of rhinos in the world. South Africa's estimated 20,000 rhinos constitute approximately 70-80% of the global total.

A government-commissioned study into whether legalising trade in rhino horn could help to bring down poaching is due in August.

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
Germany livestock import ban lifted

The UK government has amended its ban on the import of livestock, meat and dairy products from Germany.

Defra said the decision follows 'rigorous technical assessment' of the measures applied and the current situation. "If the situation changes, we will not hesitate to take necessary action in response to the FMD outbreaks in the European Union to protect our domestic biosecurity," it said.

The ban was implemented in January following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) near Berlin. Personal imports of meat, milk and dairy products will remain in place at a country level.