This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
Public access to information is a vital component of ensuring community engagement in prevalent issues. Wildlife crime is one of the pressing environmental issues of our time.
Wildlife crime investigations are generally covert operations requiring utmost confidentiality to succeed. Investigations and prosecutions in complex cases may take months or even years to complete. For this reason, the information that can be released to the public without compromising cases is often limited. Nonetheless, the Namibian government strives to share as much information as possible with the public.
The Namibian media has welcomed this approach and regularly publishes statistics and feature articles on wildlife crime. These are entered into the database at regular intervals, creating a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia.
Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.
Three members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) were apprehended on Friday, within the confines of Mangetti National Park. The arrests followed after park officials saw the perpetrators climbing over a fence during a routine anti-poaching patrol and fence inspection. The three soldiers were arrested while attempting to claim over the Mangetti Park’s boundary fence into the Mururani location, bearing bags laden with dried game meat ranging from Eland, Kudu and Wildebeest.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2024_04_Three NDF members arrested for poaching in Mangetti National Park_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 187.67 KB |
Between 2015 and February 2024, Namibia lost a staggering 631 rhinos due to poaching, marking a concerning downturn in its conservation success. This is according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism last week during the Commemoration of World Wildlife Day 2024. Breaking down the figures year by year, statistics paint a grim picture of 97 rhinos poached in 2015 alone, with six reported to be poached in 2016 and five poached in 2017.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2024_03_More than 600 rhinos were poached in ten years_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 965.03 KB |
Zambezi regional police arrested two Zambian nationals for possession of 15 elephant tusks in the Kapani area of the Linyanti constituency on Sunday. The two Zambian nationals, aged 29 and 32, were part of a group of seven, however,
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_11_Zambezi police make another elephant tusk bust_The Namibian.pdf | 115.95 KB |
In an operation led by Members of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT), in collaboration with the Namibian Police (Nampol) and Namibian Defense Force (NDF), 24 elephant tusks were confiscated during an early morning interception on Friday in the Zambezi region.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_11_Zambian poachers flee as officials confiscate 24 elephant tusks_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 274.6 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_11_Man_28_ found with perlemoen worth R3m_Herald Live.pdf | 187.89 KB |
The Windhoek Magistrate Court has handed down prison sentences of up to 15 years to four individuals involved in a heinous rhino poaching case. The culprits were found guilty for their involvement in a poaching incident dating back to December 2016, where four white rhinos were ruthlessly killed on a private farm in the Gobabis District. On 22 December 2016, the suspects allegedly, without a hunting permit, killed four white rhinos - two bulls and two pregnant cows - each valued at N$1.25 million, with a total value…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_10_Poachers sentenced to 15 years_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 284.34 KB |
The Zambezi regional police need the public's assistance to arrest the suspects behind the killing of a hippopotamus, valued at N$100 000. Speaking to The Namibian on Tuesday, police regional spokesperson inspector Kisco Sitali said they are investigating a case of hunting of a specially protected animal in the Sikunga conservancy, after a dead hippo was found floating in the Zambezi River near Mubala Lodge around 10H00 on Friday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_05_Zambezi police searching for suspected hippo poachers at Kalimbeza_The Namibian.pdf | 157.06 KB |
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism has launched an investigation into the poaching of two hippos in the Muyako area of the Zambezi region. This comes after the carcass of a hippo was on Sunday found by community members, who then alerted ministry officials Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda on Monday said it is suspected that the hippo died as a result of a bullet wound, and that it was shot on Saturday night. He said this was the second hippo killed in the same way in the area this year, with the first incident reported in February.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_03_Two hippos poached at Muyako_Zambezi_The Namibian.pdf | 299.15 KB |
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has identified its employee Otto Jan Uirab as the suspect in the poaching incident that occurred last week. He is charged alongside Nedbank employee, Harold Xarageb, and two other suspects Gaeb Franklin and Veldskoendraer Neely. The suspects were arrested on suspicion of illegally hunting a blue wildebeest in the Dan Viljoen Park near Windhoek last week. They have since appeared in the Katutura Magistrate’s court. A case has been opened with the Otjomuise Police station and the suspects were remanded in custody until the May 2023…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_02_MEFT employee nabbed for poaching_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 291.96 KB |
An official from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism was amongst three other suspects that were arrested on suspicion of illegally hunting a blue wildebeest in Dan Viljoen Park near Windhoek. "The incident happened on Tuesday at a roadblock between Dan Viljoen and Windhoek. The Ministry condemns the incident particularly, the alleged involvement of a staff member," said the ministry’s spokesperson Romeo Muyunda. They were arrested on Tuesday at the roadblock, west of Windhoek, leading to the game park.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2023_02_Ministry official arrested for poaching_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 257.16 KB |
The first eight months of 2022 saw 48 rhinos poached, four times more than the rhinos poached in 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced on Wednesday. The country recorded 44 rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017. The Etosha National Park alone saw 20 cases this year, with two carcasses discovered in the area just last week. In total, 32 poached rhinos are black and 16 are white. A total of 12 black rhinos were poached on custodianship farms and 16 white rhinos were poached on private farms.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2022_09_48 rhinos poached in 8 months_Namibia Economist.pdf | 708.58 KB |
Namibia saw 48 rhinos killed for their horns in the first eight months of 2022, four more than the 44 cases reported in 2021. The country recorded 44 rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017. Etosha National Park alone saw 20 cases this year, with two carcasses discovered in the area just last week. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said of the poached rhinos, 32 are black and 16 are white.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2022_09_48 rhinos fall prey to poachers_The Namibian.pdf | 565.58 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2022_03_Three poachers plead guilty and sentenced by Skukuza Regional Court_Lowvelder.pdf | 608.19 KB |
Environment, forestry and tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta has revealed that Namibia's elephant population has grown to an estimated 23 736 since independence.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2021_10_Elephant conservation efforts yield results Shifeta_The Namibian.pdf | 616.78 KB |
Barks Sobozi (44) was arrested at Silonga after months of joint investigations by the Wildlife Protection Services (WPS) division of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, and the Namibian Defence Force. Sobozi is allegedly part of a transnational syndicate suspected of rhino poaching in the Botswana Delta.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2021_03_Suspected poaching syndicate member denied bail_The Namibian.pdf | 1.01 MB |
A 59-year-old Namibian man was arrested on Friday for the alleged illegal possession of five lechwe carcasses in the Chikuzwe area of the Zambezi region. Zambezi's regional head of the police's protected resources unit, Morgan Saisai, told The Namibian today that after gathering intelligence, they set up a roadblock at Chikuzwe, which led to suspect's arrest.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2021_03_Man arrested for alleged illegal possession of lechwe carcasses_The Namibian.pdf | 651.39 KB |
A twenty-year-old Zambian man was arrested on Sunday in the Zambezi region after he was found in possession of one elephant tusk and 81 pangolin scales.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2020-08_Zambian nabbed for ivory_pangolin scales_The Namibian.pdf | 716.9 KB |
With conservation funding affected by the lockdown, a number of areas in north-western Namibia’s rhino range have been left exposed by the lack of tourists thus requiring extra patrolling. With the donation of 1,000 ounces of gold by B2Gold, the launch of the B2Gold Rhino Gold Bar in January 2020 and the subsequent sale of 600 bars to local buyers, the B2Gold Rhino Gold Bar Advisory Committee has responded to the crisis.
Local short film, ‘Baxu and the Giants’ will have its first public screening of the year at the DHPS Auditorium, on Thursday, 6 February. Entrance is free but any donations to the Save the Rhino Trust will be welcome.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2020-02_Anti_rhino poaching short film to screen at DHPS next week_Namibia Economist.pdf | 619.62 KB |
A 31-Year-old Zambian man was arrested yesterday arrested at Mukuyu village after he was found in possession of one elephant tusk and a rhino horn.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-08_Man nabbed for possession of elephant tusk_rhino horn - The Namibian.pdf | 593.11 KB |
Two men were arrested at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi region on Wednesday after they were found in possession of four elephant tusks.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-07_Two suspected poachers arrested in Zambezi region again_The Namibian.pdf | 276.64 KB |
Two suspected poachers were arrested on Monday night after they were found in possession of a crocodile skin in Kongola area of the Zambezi region.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-07_Suspected poachers arrested in Zambezi region_The Namibian.pdf | 354.33 KB |
A man was denied bail on a charge of possession of six elephant tusks yesterday in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate's Court.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-05_Man denied bail for possession of six elephant tusks_The Namibian.pdf | 478.2 KB |
Six suspected poachers were arrested in Zambezi region after they were found in possession of four elephant tusks, two elephant tails and one zebra skin yesterday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-03_Six in for possession of tusks_zebra skin_The Namibian.pdf | 284.23 KB |
Two suspected poachers were arrested on Friday in the Zambezi region for being in possession of zebra meat without a permit.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-01_Two suspected zebra poachers arrested_The Namibian.pdf | 505.17 KB |
Police in the Zambezi region are calling on community members who have a missing relative to come and identify the body of a suspected poacher who was killed during a chase over the weekend in the Bwabwata National Park. Zambezi regional police commissioner Karel Theron yesterday said the man was killed during a shoot-out between the police, members of the anti-poaching unit, and suspected poachers on Saturday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-04_Suspected poacher killed by police_The Namibian.pdf | 385.79 KB |
Five suspects who were arrested last week for being in possession of four elephant tusks were denied bail in the Katima Mulilo Magisitrate's Court on Monday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-01_Five suspected poachers denied bail_The Namibian.pdf | 350.32 KB |
The police in the Zambezi region have arrested four Namibians and one Zambian suspect after they were allegedly found in possession of four elephant tusks on Friday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-01_Five suspected poachers arrested in Zambezi_The Namibian.pdf | 353.32 KB |