Search results

An adult male was on Friday arrested by the Namibian police after he was found to be transporting game meat (a hippopotamus carcass) at Katere village in the Ndiyona constituency, Kavango East region. The suspect is due to face charges of illegal transportation and possession of game meat.

Fifteen years after South Africa was hit by an unprecedented wave of rhino-horn poaching, the slaughter rate remains relentless - with one rhino shot almost every day in KwaZulu-Natal, the historic heartland of global rhino conservation. More than 60% of the rhinos killed in South Africa so far in 2023 drew their last breaths in KwaZulu-Natal as poachers continue to shift more of their deadly firepower and axes to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, one of the world’s last strongholds of wild rhino conservation. Latest poaching …

Police in Zambezi region are investigating a case of hunting of specially protected game and theft of elephant tusks after a decomposed elephant was discovered. It is alleged that unknown suspect(s) poached and killed an elephant, and removed its tusks between 16 to 22 April 2023 near Dzudzo farming area in Dzoti conservancy of Zambezi region. "A decomposed carcass was recovered at Dzudzo area on Friday, 28 April 2023 and it seemed to have been killed two weeks back from the date of recovery. The elephant is valued at N$29 000," the police said no arrest has been made yet.

The Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife conservation agency has, up till now, opted to not dehorn its rhinos to protect them from poachers. But that could change soon, following another year of relentless killings in which the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park emerged as the current rhino poaching hotspot, globally. The latest poaching figures released by national Environment Minister Barbara Creecy show that 244 rhinos were killed by horn poachers in KwaZulu-Natal in 2022 - the vast majority of them in the HIP.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) arrested 36 armed poachers inside the country's national parks last year as the number of endangered rhinos killed for their horns rose sharply. Zimbabwe records a high number of poaching cases every year with animals such as elephants and rhinos targeted for their horns, which are in demand in Asian countries. Some of the poachers are said to be from neighbouring countries such as Zambia.

A suspect in a poaching case was gunned down by police officers on Saturday after three men allegedly hunted down a rhinoceros at farm Okarakua in the Windhoek district. One man, aged 27, was arrested, while a third suspect is still at large. Subsequently, a murder case was opened against the anti-poaching unit officers.

The Namibian Police in Mukwe constituency in the Kavango East region on Friday arrested a 31-year-old man after he was found in possession of controlled wildlife products - two elephant tusks. The suspect, who is now due for court, was arrested at buffalo checkpoint in the Mukwe constituency during a police special operation on Friday afternoon at around 19h00. The suspect will appear in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 16 January.

There is a resurgence of poaching activities targeting rhinos at Matobo National Park, which threatens to reverse gains made over the years to protect the endangered species. Matobo National Park in Matabeleland South has one of the highest rhino populations in the country. Six poaching incidents have been reported at the game reserve this year, according to Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) Matabeleland South regional manager Midwell Kapesa. Zimbabwe holds the fourth largest population of rhinos in Africa with 616 black rhinos and 417 white…

Poaching syndicates are recruiting vulnerable villagers in Zimbabwe's animal corridors to kill animals such as elephants for their ivory, and to find markets, even on the streets, it has emerged. Police in areas such as Hwange, Kamativi and Victoria Falls in Matabeleland North have in recent months arrested people found trying to sell pieces of ivory on the streets. Conservationists say most of the locals arrested are people that were exploited by cunning syndicates, including some run by Zambian nationals, and they often lacked knowledge about wildlife crimes.

Hwange National Park, once a favourite hunting ground for poachers, has not lost an elephant to the illegal hunters for the past two years largely because of partnerships between the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) and non-governmental organisations. In 2013, over 300 elephants were killed by poachers at the country’s largest game reserve as the menace reached its peak. Poachers, who included villagers from rural outposts such as Tsholotsho and Hwange used cyanide to kill the elephants for their ivory.

Rising demand for bush meat during Covid-19 lockdowns has decimated wild animals that used to roam the streets of Zimbabwe’s prime resort town of Victoria Falls, conservationists say. The Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU) said animals such as warthogs that used to roam the city were now hard to come by because they were killed by poachers, who use snares. VFAPU said between January and April, it apprehended 59 suspected poachers around Victoria Falls. The anti-poaching unit removed 163 snares and another 309 snares were identified by Zambezi Horse Safaris.

Three Namibian male suspects aged 26, 30 and 33 are due in court after they were arrested on Saturday night in Kavango West for illegal possession of a live pangolin and two elephant tusks.

Poaching syndicates are recruiting vulnerable villagers in Zimbabwe's animal corridors to kill animals such as elephants for their ivory and to find markets, even on the streets, it has emerged. Police in areas such as Hwange, Kamativi and Victoria Falls in Matabeleland North have in recent months arrested people found trying to sell pieces of ivory on the streets. Conservationists say most of the locals arrested were people that were exploited by cunning syndicates, including some run by Zambian nationals, and they often lacked knowledge about wildlife crimes.

Forestry officials in Kavango West have seized about 4 000 planks from illegal timber harvesters at some recently allocated farms with no government leaseholds in the Katji-na-Katji area. A forestry patrol team discovered the illegal operation deep in the forest where planks and a timber cutting machine was confiscated. Two suspects were apprehended.

Just as the barbarity of war in Ukraine or the global climate crisis gradually lose their shock value, the unrelenting massacre of South Africa’s rhino has all but drifted from public view. Behind the scenes, however, at least 75 rhinos have been butchered for their horns in KwaZulu-Natal in the opening months of 2022.

Poaching activities around Hwange National Park went down last year, thanks to the involvement of local communities in anti-poaching campaigns. Poaching remains one of the main threats to the survival of painted dogs found in the area. Covid-19 induced lockdowns worsened the situation over the past two years.

Rundu - The Kapinga Kamwalye Conservancy in the Mashare constituency of Kavango East is facing a crisis of illegal tree harvesting. At one crime scene, about 86 logs of illegally harvested Kiaat timber, scientifically known as Pterocarpus Angolensis, were found and 10 at another by conservancy members who were

Rundu - A 30-year-old man, who was arrested through a police sting operation on Saturday at Zigizi village in Kavango West, was granted bail of N$3 000 for alleged possession and dealing in pangolin scales when he appeared in court yesterday.

The Rundu Magistrate's Court granted bail to two Namibian men arrested for possession of a spotted genet skin, four python skins and two mineral stones. The value of the confiscated items is yet to be determined. Jesaya Johannes Kasera (29) and Mathews Nkomba Kaveto (36) appeared before Rundu magistrate Hellen Olaiya on a charge of contravening the nature conservation ordinance, in particular possession of raw skin of protected game.

Shocking official statistics have emerged which show that the world's single-largest population of rhinos - those living in the flagship Kruger National Park - has been slashed by between 66% and 70% over the past decade, mainly due to the unrelenting wave of butchery by international hornpoaching syndicates.