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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King Misuzulu kaZwelithini issued a warning to criminals within communities to stop damaging Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife game reserves’ fencing including cutting fences and stealing poles. The King was speaking during a meeting with an Ezemvelo delegation at his palace in Pongola on Thursday. During his presentation to the King, Ezemvelo chief executive officer Sihle Mkhize, informed the King that Ezemvelo faces challenges beyond rhino poaching, including criminals within neighbouring communities stealing fence materials and poles.
A hippopotamus valued at N$100 000 was killed at Sitinda farm in the Zambezi region on Saturday. According to the police's crime report, the hippo was shot for allegedly destroying the maize fields of the culprit on severa occasions. The suspect was in possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence.
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NAM_2023_02_Crime in brief_The Namibian.pdf | 271.9 KB |
Botswana's government has presented to the ongoing CITES CoP-19 in Panama a detailed document on the country's efforts to contain rhino poaching which increased at least 100 fold between 2018 and 2020. The country recorded two rhino poaching incidents in the five years between 2012 and 2017 with zero incidents reported in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017.
Botswana' Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has confirmed the recent arrest of a man found in possession of a live pangolin in the capital Gaborone. The department says the incident was reported to them by the Botswana Police, raising concern about the continued poaching of pangolins.
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BOT_2022_11_Botswana man arrested for possession of live pangolin_Independent.pdf | 277.61 KB |
A white rhino has reportedly been killed and dehorned by poachers inside the protected Khama Rhino Sanctuary (KRS) in Botswana. Two separate conservationists have reported about the killing. One conservationist told this publication that their sources inside the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) confirmed the incident. "Two weeks ago a white rhino was poached at Khama Rhino Sanctuary but they are denying it happened at their property but sources inside DWNP confirm it was indeed at KRS."
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BOT_08_Rhino killed at Khama Sanctuary_Sunday Standard.pdf | 437.09 KB |
Durban - A 45-year-old man convicted of rhino poaching was sentenced to 28 years in prison by the Empangeni Regional Court.
"The absence of tourists in conservation areas enables poachers to act more freely. In normal times, tourists act as additional 'eyes and ears' in conservation areas, and their presence deters poachers from acting, but the decline in tourism activity emboldened poachers," a UK government report on the impact of Covid-19 on poaching has said.
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BOT_2022_04_Increased movement in wildlife areas reduces poaching activities_Sunday Standard.pdf | 343.45 KB |
Poaching intensified over the past three years following the 2018 decision by the government to disarm the anti-poaching unit under the DWNP. The 100+ rhinos poached since the disarmament represents a 100+ percent increase in poaching incidents when compared to the previous three years when Botswana lost one rhino per annum in the preceding 2015, 2016, and 2017 when the unit had firearms. There were at least 12 rhinos poached in 2018, 29 rhinos in 2019, and over 50 poached by the end of 2020.
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BOT_2021_11_Botswana struggles with rising cases of rhino poaching_Independent Co.pdf | 716.01 KB |
A 29-year-old male suspect was arrested in the Rehoboth constituency on charges of illegal hunting and possession of game meat without a permit. Crime investigation coordinator of the Namibian Police in the Hardap region deputy commissioner Eric Clay confirmed the arrest. The suspect is charged with illegal poaching after he was found in possession of a gemsbok worth N$8 000 and a warthog worth N$2 500. It is not clear if the animals were still alive.
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NAM_2021_07_Poacher caught red_handed at agricultural college farm_The Namibian.pdf | 1000.62 KB |
KwaZulu-Natal wildlife is "under attack" by illegal hunters across the province says Blessed Gwala, the IFP spokesperson for community safety and liaison. Last week the carcasses of four dehorned rhinos were found in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.
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SA_2020-12_KZN wildlife under siege from illegal hunters_IOL.pdf | 104.59 KB |
The Director of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Brigadier Peter Magosi has defended government’s decision to dehorn Botswana’s rhinos as an anti-poaching control measure. Magosi has said the dehorning of rhinos was the only way they could ensure protection of the animals from poachers.
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BOT_2020-07_Its better to show tourists a dehorned rhino than nothing at all_Magosi_Sunday Standard.pdf | 197.57 KB |