Search results

In Namibia werden vermehrt Leoparden auf inakzeptable Weise gejagt. Jagdpraktiken, die der Tierquälerei nahekommen und nichts mehr mit naturschutzorientierter Jagd im Einklang mit der Natur zu tun haben, fassen in der Branche zunehmend Fuß - dem muss ein Ende gesetzt werden. In Namibia, leopards are increasingly being hunted in unacceptable ways. Hunting practices that come close to animal cruelty and no longer have anything to do with conservation-oriented hunting in harmony with nature are increasingly gaining a foothold in the industry - this must be put to an end.

Five rhino horns, one hunting rifle with a silencer, fourteen live rounds, two knives and five mobile phones were recovered from the car. The Skukuza Regional Court on Tuesday sentenced rhino poachers to 34 and 39 years in prison following following their arrest in November 2019. According to Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, two of the three suspects who were arrested for rhino poaching and other related crimes were sentenced to 34 years' imprisonment. The third suspect was sentenced to 39 years' imprisonment.

Operation Blue Rhino was initiated in 2018 to counter the surge in high-value wildlife crime in Namibia. The formal cooperation between government ministries is enabled through external funding support. Blue Rhino is facilitated through active collaboration amongst numerous partner organisations. Effective conservation systems that enable healthy wildlife populations form the foundation of biodiversity protection in Namibia. Anti-poaching initiatives guard against criminal impacts on vulnerable wildlife.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) on Tuesday confirmed that with an ongoing operation in Etosha National Park, 11 rhino carcasses from the beginning of June to date have been discovered. MEFT spokesperson Romeo Muyunda in a statement said all the 11 were found without horns and they were black rhinos. "Investigations indicate that the carcasses range between 3 weeks and older. This is regrettable and a strong indication that the fight against poaching is not over," he added.

Two foreign nationals from the Democratic Republic of Congo were arrested outside Seattle last week and indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy and money laundering for allegedly smuggling elephant ivory and rhino horns into the United States.

While it was initially thought that the Rhino may have been shot, the post mortem team established that the rhino died of natural causes (fighting).

The scaly creature is among the most-trafficked group of wild animals on earth. The small mammal, named after the Malaysian word 'penggulung', which means 'roller', is an endangered and relatively unknown species. Pangolins everywhere are relentlessly collected in the wild and trafficked to markets in Asia, where they are served as a delicacy in restaurants, and their scales are used in medicinal products. It's this consumption at end markets that drives the trade.

The pangolin skin is valued at about N$50 000 while the value and authenticity of the unpolished diamonds is yet to be determined by the police.

Namibian conservation efforts have faced a number of major crises over the past half century.

Namibia doesn't just do anti-poaching patrols to protect rhinos. A broad suite of initiatives is in place to combat wildlife crime. These include community participation, monitoring and surveillance, security infrastructure, multi-agency partnerships, private sector support, international collaboration and more. Yet foremost among them are superb law-enforcement mechanisms to find, arrest and prosecute perpetrators.

COVID-19 has had significant effects in Namibia, as it has in every other country on planet Earth. The Namibian tourism industry has been temporarily disrupted, which has halted the tourism income which usually upports conservation initiatives. One may expect this would result in an immediate surge in wildlife crime. This is not the case. In spite of the massive challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic, Namibia has not experienced a spike in wildlife crime, as the number of registered cases is not higher than the same period last year.

For two decades after Namibia's independence, the country experienced minimal commercial poaching. Over the past 10 years this has rapidly changed. Wildlife crime has skyrocketed and Namibia has rallied to counter the surge. A high of 97 poached rhinos estimated for 2015 has been reduced to 45 in 2019.

The Rhino Files are periodic articles exploring the complexity of rhino conservation in Namibia. WHEN a rhino is poached, outraged environmentalists often call for the most severe measures of punishment, such as shooting the poachers on sight. Shooting poachers dead doesn't stop poaching. The poachers - usually rural Namibians with bush skills - are at the lowest rung on the criminal ladder.

"They just get out on bail and do it again" - this is a widespread public sentiment regarding crime in Namibia, and wildlife crime in particular. There are many misconceptions about law enforcement and the judiciary. Bail is just one of them. At the end of 2019, the number of suspects out on bail amounted to less than 20% for all crimes related to high-value wildlife (pangolin, elephant, rhinos).

The Rhino Files are periodic articles exploring the complexity of rhino conservation in Namibia. "We aim to detect criminal activity and arrest poachers before a rhino is killed." This might sound overly-ambitious, but Barry de Klerk knows it's possible. Operation Blue Rhino has made over 100 pre-emptive arrests in around 30 cases since its inception in mid-2018. Would-be poachers are being caught before they can kill a rhino. Pro-active law enforcement has saved dozens of animals.

It's important to know that it wasn't always like this – the government, local communities, NGOs, the private sector and international agencies have made a huge investment in rebuilding Namibian rhino populations from historic lows. The black rhino, a frugal browser of herbs and shrubs, was once distributed across most of what is today Namibia. It penetrated the Namib down to the coast along all larger ephemeral and perennial rivers. Its distribution extended from the Nama Karoo in the south to the broad-leaved woodlands and rivers of today's Zambezi region.

The Rhino Files are periodic articles exploring the complexity of rhino conservation in Namibia.

Kelsey Prediger walks into the bush in the darkness of early evening. She is armed with only a small torch, telemetry equipment, a mobile phone and a belt pouch with small research tools. Although the grass is hip high in places, Kelsey appears unfazed by the possibility of encountering a snake, a leopard or another potentially dangerous creature.

The term 'poacher' is often used for anyone involved in wildlife crime. In reality, wildlife crime functions through a complex web of criminals, where the poachers – the people carrying out the illegal killing of an animal to initiate the trade in its parts – are at the lowest level.

Between 1 January and 31 December 2019, 155 suspects were arrested for being found in possession of pangolins or their parts, attempting to trade these, or aiding and abetting those charged with possession or trafficking. During the same year, law enforcement officers in Namibia confiscated 121 pangolins. About 60% of the pangolins were dead. Most of the animals seized alive could be rehabilitated and released back into the wild.

One pupil and an elderly resident sustained slight injuries after they were attacked by a lone black rhino which terrorised residents of Omuthiya in Oshikoto region on Monday.

Rhinos are known for their distinctive horn or in some cases two horns on their nose. It's a great shame how some people do not consider these animals as the treasures that they are. They are also known as part of the big five.

Environmental crime has exploded worldwide in recent years. According to a report by INTERPOL and UNEP, environmental crime has increased at 2 to 3 times the rate of the global economy and is now the fourth-largest criminal sector after drug trafficking, counterfeit crimes and human trafficking. It is a massive problem, receiving massive attention. Similar trends are true for Namibia. Over the past decade, cases have skyrocketed from negligible to crisis levels - but over the past five years crime rates have been curbed through increasingly effective law enforcement.