Search results

Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

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.

Displaying results 1 - 10 of 10
Friday, 23 June 2023
Calitz L 2023. Poaching rife in Manyeleti Nature Reserve, says party.

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.

Thursday, 24 February 2022
Calitz L 2022. Alleged rhino horn possession case goes to Nelspruit Regional Court in June.

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.

Monday, 6 December 2021
Kindzeka ME 2021. Cameroon deploys military to assist rangers as poaching increases.

Cameroon has deployed its military forces to help rangers crack down on poachers on its eastern border with the Central African Republic. Cameroon wildlife officials say poaching is again increasing after pandemic restrictions saw a drop in the number of animals being killed. Officials say in the last week alone, poachers have killed at least eight elephants along the border. Cameroon's Forestry and Wildlife ministry says several dozen armed poachers are attacking elephants along the CAR border.

Friday, 17 September 2021
Calitz L 2021. Case of alleged possession of rhino horn postponed again.

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.

Thursday, 22 July 2021
Kindzeka ME 2021. Cameroon police intercept pangolin scales trafficked from 3 central African states.

Cameroonian police say they have for the first time during the pandemic seized parts of an estimated 2,000 pangolins poached in Cameroon and neighboring Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Police say travel restrictions had slowed trafficking of the endangered anteater to Asia, where its meat is considered a delicacy and the scales are used in traditional medicine. At least 12 bags of Pangolin scales and leopard skin are in a police warehouse at Nlonkak, a neighborhood in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde.

Monday, 19 October 2020
Nkwame M 2020. Anti-poaching squad ropes in 27 suspects.

Patrol groups of the paramilitary National Anti-Poaching Squad have arrested 27 people on suspicions of being involved in a series of poaching incidents in the past 10 months in the Moyowosi and Uvinza game reserves of Kigoma region.

Monday, 30 July 2018
Shapwanale N 2018. Businessmen 'prey' on poor Namibians to poach rhino for international syndicates.

Well-heeled businessmen are allegedly driving the trade in poached rhino horn in Namibia, using marginal communities as foot soldiers, an amaBhungane/The Namibian investigation has revealed. The role of local entrepreneurs in the horn trade has not previously been highlighted. The popular perception in Namibia is that Chinese nationals are the kingpins in charge of the trade.

Wednesday, 24 May 2017
Shapwanale N 2017. Courier worker suspected in rhino horn smuggling.

Police are investigating an employee of a multinational courier company for attempting to smuggle rhino  horns through Eros airport, police spokesperson, commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi said yesterday.

Friday, 31 March 2017
Shapwanale N 2017. Four arrested over Zambezi poaching.

The police this week arrested two Zambians and two Namibians in the Zambezi region after they were found with elephant tusks and rhino horns.

Thursday, 15 December 2016
Shapwanale N 2016. Criminal Chinese tarnishing name - embassy.

The Chinese embassy in Namibia said it will not allow a few of its nationals who have been arrested in connection with poaching to tarnish their country's image.

NOT FOUND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? AMEND YOUR SEARCH...