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.
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The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism is investigating some of its workers at Etosha National Park for possibly playing a part in the rhino poaching syndicate which recently left 11 of the mammals dead. Addressing the media yesterday environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said they suspect the "act" was an inside job. All the rhinos killed were also dehorned. He said the ministry is broadening investigations to determine whether its workers were complicit in the matter.
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NAM_2022_06_Government probes workers for poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 509.23 KB |
Environment, Forestry and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta says the recent discoveries of 11 dead rhinos are an indication that the country needs to up its game in curbing wildlife crime. This comes after the rhino carcasses were discovered at Etosha National Park, since the beginning of June to date, with their horns removed.
The Environment and Tourism Ministry says it has discovered 11 rhino carcasses at the Etosha National Park since the beginning of this month. According to the ministry's spokesperson Romeo Muyunda, investigations indicate the carcasses are at least three weeks old. "This is regrettable and a strong indication that the fight against poaching is not over," he said. To date, 22 rhinos have been poached this year.
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NAM_2022_06_Eleven rhino carcasses found at Etosha_The Namibian.pdf | 553.15 KB |
Kenya's black rhino population has doubled from less than 400 in 1985 to 794 by the end of 2019. Kenya is home to the last remaining two Northern White Rhinos in the world. "But, the Northern White Rhinos are endangered. There are only two existing in the world that are only found at the Ol Pejeta conservancy. We are making sure the white rhinos are saved and we produce more. We must protect these animals," said Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala during a webinar commemorating World Rhino Day last month.
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KEN_2020-11_ Rhino Numbers Go Up As Efforts to Fight Poaching Pay Off_allAfrica_com.pdf | 233.25 KB |
Namibia has recorded a drastic drop in rhino and elephant poaching cases in the past three years because of improved response mechanisms, the government said yesterday. Minister of environment Pohamba Shifeta said the country has seen a reduction in rhino poaching numbers from 78 cases in 2018, 49 in 2019 and 17 so far this year.
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NAM_2020-07_Rhino_elephant poaching cases down_The Namibian.pdf | 267.91 KB |
In South Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic and strict government-imposed lockdown have led to an unexpected consequence: a major decline in rhino poaching. More than 80% of African rhinos remaining in the world are in South Africa, making it the hotspot for rhino poaching. The number of rhinos killed for their horns has been slowly declining over recent years, but the pandemic and lockdown have quelled rhino poaching even more.
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SA_2020-07_Rhino poaching in South Africa declines during coronavirus lockdown_Pri_Org.pdf | 479.45 KB |
A group of four men entered a farm in the Severn area and were caught red-handed trying to poach rhinos for their horns by members of the Kuruman Stock Theft unit. The Tswalu Anti- Poaching unit provided aerial and ground support to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and managed to apprehend the suspects. One of the suspects was killed during the gun-fight, with two others injured. A fourth man was arrested, with a weapons stock confiscated.
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SA_2020-04_Northern Cape authorities apprehend poachers amid lockdown scourge_The South African.pdf | 231.76 KB |