Beware of liars.

Polygraph tests are to be made mandatory for some staff working in South Africa's national parks to combat rampant wildlife poaching, the public organization that manages the parks announced on Thursday.

Poachers, sometimes operating with the complicity of park employees, have decimated the country's endangered rhino population in recent years.


In response, South Africa's national parks organization, SANParks, has adopted a new polygraph testing policy for its employees.

The tests will initially be voluntary, but "the intention is eventually to make polygraph testing mandatory for certain job categories," SANParks said in a statement.

The policy approved in November is expected to come into effect early next year, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said in a written response to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, which released the response on Wednesday.


Media Release: SANParks To Develop SOP To Ease Implementation Of Polygraph Tests - https://t.co/bVzXPCOOhw

— SANParks (@SANParks) December 22, 2022

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“It is high time that we take action”


Lie detectors are 'not the answer to preventing or managing staff involvement in crime, but it is a tool that should be used as part of a toolkit and with a full understanding of its benefits , but also its limits,” said SANParks communications manager Rey Thakhuli.

Polygraph testing for SANParks staff was first introduced in 2016 as a pilot project.


Last year, the Environment Ministry said 71 park officials had taken the test.

SANParks employs around 4,000 people, according to official figures.

“There are suspicions that some SANParks officials may have been corrupt,” said Dave Bryant, the DA's environmental manager.

"It is high time we took active steps to address this issue," he added.



South Africa is home to nearly 80% of the world's rhinos.

But it is also a hotspot for rhinoceros poaching, driven by Asian demand, where the horns are used in traditional medicine for their supposed therapeutic effect.

Nearly 470 rhinos were poached across the country between April 2021 and March 2022, according to government figures, up 16% from the previous 12 months.

The highly touristic Kruger Park, on the border with Mozambique, has seen its rhino population decline dramatically over the past decade due to poaching.

The park's estimated number in 2021 was 2,800 rhinos, about 70 percent fewer than in 2008, according to official statistics from SANParks.

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