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The FF Plus called for intensified efforts to curb poaching of wild animals in the Manyeleti Game Reserve, while the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency said the situation had been stabilised after a hectic December of dog poaching and snaring.

At least five elephants were shot and stripped of their tusks in early April 2023 in southern Chad. Shocked by this wildlife crime, the organisation SOS Elephants of Chad is calling on the government to act firmly against the resurgence of poaching of Chad’s endangered elephants.

Four individuals involved in the illegal trafficking of four ivory tips were arrested on April 5 and 6, 2023 in Makokou, a town in northeastern Gabon. The elephant population in Gabon remains threatened despite regular ivory seizures by Water and Forestry agents. This observation has led civil society to explore actions upstream of the ivory trade process. In Gabon, efforts to fight crime related to protected wildlife species have just resulted in new arrests.

The future of the rhino is becoming increasingly bleak, despite efforts to combat poaching. According to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Save the Rhino International, South Africa, which is home to around 80% of the world's rhinos, has lost almost 75% of its rhino population in less than ten years. These figures were revealed on 22 September 2022, World Rhino Day.

The Gabonese authorities have just arrested an alleged wildlife trafficker. The latter was caught in the act of holding and selling about twenty kilograms of ivory. In Gabon, elephants are protected by the wildlife law in force.

Mpumalanga's AB Steyn and Limpopo's Dawie Groenewald appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court on February 23 and 24. The pair's previous appearance was on December 10 last year when the case was postponed for the fourth time. Some issues were raised by each of their legal representatives yesterday including that the state was dragging its feet in the case, that the state should be held responsible for the teams' travel costs because of the delays, and that documents were not presented in the way they were supposed to be.

An endangered pangolin has been taken hostage by a group of rebels in the the Democratic Republic of Congo who sent a ransom request to conservationists for the animal’s release. It sparks fears that the kidnap could lead to a trend in using wildlife as bargaining power, the activists negotiating with the kidnappers are attempting to rescue the pangolin without payment. "This is something new and alarming," Adams Cassinga, founder of Conserv Congo, said after "proof of life" photographs of the prized animal were sent to community conservationists.

AB Steyn and Dawie Groenewald appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court again on September 17 after they had been arrested in Mbombela on July 20. The pair was arrested for the alleged possession of 19 rhino horns on July 20, and after appearing in court on July 23 for the first time, they were released on bail of R50 000 each. Following their appearance today (September 17) the case was again postponed to December 10 for further investigation.

I have read Rob Moffett's opinion piece (The Namibian, 1 November 2013) on turning rhinos into a commodity with interest. I have also seen some other press coverage of this issue.