SOUTH AFRICA'S RHINO POACHING TIMELINE

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was established in Washington D.C. in order to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival on March 3rd, 1973.

Wild rhino populations throughout Africa had suffered catastrophic declines by the time the CITES convention finally came into force in 1975.

For thirty-two years (1975-2007), South Africa had an exemplary rhino protection record, and despite being besieged by poachers in other rhino range states such as Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda, South Africa, along with Zimbabwe, remained relatively unaffected.  

The CITES convention has 184 member countries (called parties) that agree to ensure national compliance by using the convention's framework.

We can examine the historical events that could have influenced the crisis today.