How Conservation Dogs Helped Anti-Poaching Teams Protect Rhinos

During the first months of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, reporting drew attention to the continuing threat of rhino poaching in South Africa. An ITV report published in May described nine rhinos killed since March. That was a report from a particular stage of the crisis, not a total for an entire year.

One response receiving attention was the use of trained dogs alongside anti-poaching teams. The work predated the pandemic: the Southern African Wildlife College’s account placed the start of its free-tracking dog operations in February 2018.

The illegal trade in rhino horn creates a strong incentive for poaching, with demand linked to markets including Vietnam and China. Prices quoted in news coverage vary with the quantity, market and stage of trafficking, so a single dollar figure per horn cannot describe every transaction.

Conservation dogs contribute a different kind of capability: following human scent to help a team locate people moving through a protected area. Their work depends on training, suitable dogs and handlers able to interpret and act on what happens in the field. The dogs support a coordinated response; they do not replace it.

Coverage of the programme described several breeds, including Belgian Malinois, bluetick coonhounds, beagles, bloodhounds, foxhounds and black-and-tan coonhounds. Young dogs undergo preparation before operational work, with around eighteen months given as a typical starting age in those accounts. The period of preparation is an important part of the work: a dog’s readiness depends on its development and training, rather than age alone.

National Geographic coverage cited a rise from roughly 3–5 percent to 54 percent in the success rate of the operations it described. Other coverage quoted a different figure for areas patrolled with the Southern African Wildlife College’s dogs. These reported rates belong to their respective operations; they do not show that most poachers throughout South Africa were being caught.

The widely repeated estimate of forty-five rhinos saved came from the college’s assessment of killings prevented after free-tracking dogs became operational in February 2018. The Daily Mail and other outlets reported the estimate in 2020. It was not a count limited to the lockdown period.

Johan van Straaten, dog master at the college’s K9 unit, explained:
“The data we collect for this applied learning project, aimed at informing best practice, shows we have prevented approximately 45 rhinos being killed since the free tracking dogs became operational in February 2018 … In the areas where the Southern African Wildlife College patrol, the success rate of the dogs is around 68 percent using both on and off leash free tracking dogs, compared to between three to five percent with no canine capacity.”

Rhino protection involves more than responding to a single encounter. Patrol capacity, information, trained staff and continuing support all affect what a conservation team can do. Dogs add a specialised skill to that effort, while the people around them remain responsible for decisions and follow-up.

The college’s estimate attracted attention because it expressed the project’s possible benefit in terms of living animals. Its meaning depends on the period and method behind it: an estimate of poaching prevented is different from counting animals admitted to a rescue centre or recording arrests.