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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A group of private game farmers, Help our Rhino Now Namibia (HoRN.nam), is offering a reward of N$100 000 for information leading to the arrest of poachers who shot a rhino at a farm near Windhoek. HoRN.nam said in a media statement on Wednesday that rhino poaching has escalated in Namibia over the past 18 months. The organisation says this poses a real and critical threat to the well-being and future survival of Namibian rhino populations.
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NAM_2023_02_Reward offered for arrest of rhino poachers_The Namibian.pdf | 241.03 KB |
Data from the Kenya Wildlife Service indicates that between 2014 and 2022, dogs led to the documentation of 102 incidents of wildlife trafficking. About 114 people linked to these incidents were arrested and prosecuted during the period. "The dogs are key in deterring these crimes. These cases have gone down because traffickers are now aware of the strict security deployed in our borders, airports, and even ports.
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KEN_2023_01_Poaching and trafficking up_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 263.3 KB |
Police said four women are in custody for the possession of lion cubs they were selling in Boksburg North.
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SA_2022_12_Four women in custody for possession of lion cubs they were selling_The South African.pdf | 210.78 KB |
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism says 63 rhinos have been poached since January this year.
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NAM_2022_11_63 rhinos poached so far this year_The Namibian.pdf | 279.7 KB |
Six people were arrested for rhino poaching, and one suspect for being in possession of a pangolin skin, states the report.
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NAM_2022_11_Seven arrested for wildlife crime in one week_The Namibian.pdf | 278.67 KB |
The minister of environment, forestry and tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, says 36 people have been arrested for rhino-related cases this year alone. Shifeta was speaking at the handover of 10 vehicles, park management and law enforcement equipment funded by the Integrated National Park Management II (NamParks V and Covid-19 Fund) and Integrated Wildlife Protection projects in Windhoek on Wednesday. According to Shifeta, it is of great concern that 55 rhinos have been poached to date this year. "This is compared to 44 rhinos poached in 2021.
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NAM_2022_10_Rhino poaching cases on the rise_The Namibian.pdf | 537.99 KB |
The preacher and admitted rhinoceros poacher Jackson Babi is facing a prison term of at least 10 years, which would increase to 27 years if he does not pay fines also imposed on him, after pleading guilty on 11 criminal charges in the Gobabis Regional Court.
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NAM_2022_09_Heavy sentence as preacher admits rhino poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 878.5 KB |
Two male suspects were arrested on Thursday in connection with the poaching of 11 rhinos in Etosha National Park. This was confirmed by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda. "They were arrested yesterday and, at this stage, no further information can be given as investigations are still premature," Muyunda said. Earlier this week, the ministry issued a statement saying the carcasses were discovered during ongoing operations in Etosha National Park. The carcasses are suspected to be three weeks and older, according to the report.
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NAM_2022_06_Two arrested for suspected rhino poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 232.53 KB |
A 34-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man appeared in the Ubombo magistrate's court for allegedly killing a crocodile.
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SA_2022_04_KZN man in court for allegedly killing crocodile_Times Live.pdf | 336.85 KB |
A 25-year-old man was convicted and sentenced by Kuruman Regional Court after trying to sell a pangolin for R200 000.
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SA_2022_02_Man convicted for illegal possession of pangolin in Northern Cape_The South African.pdf | 214.29 KB |
A 71-year-old man was arrested after allegedly being found in possession of four elephant tusks on Thursday. According to the police, the man was arrested at Nonidas River Plots at Swakopmund.
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NAM_2021_12_Man arrested over elephant tusks_The Namibian.pdf | 1.03 MB |
The 38-year-old poacher was sentenced to 19 years behind bars after a white rhinoceros was killed in Lower Sabie in 2014.
At least 249 rhinos were killed in the first six months of this year in South Africa. The bulk of the killings happened at the Kruger National Park, where 132 rhinos were killed.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, funded and supported by conservation NGO Wildlife ACT, dehorned the white rhino population in Spioenkop Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal over three days, making it one of the biggest rhino dehorning operations in the province. On Wednesday, Wildlife ACT, a registered non-profit organisation established to save Africa's iconic and endangered species from extinction, explained that dehorning of rhino populations was adopted as an effective tool in the fight to save the species from increasing poaching threats.
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SA_2021_04_White rhino population at KZN nature reserve dehorned_Times Live.pdf | 529.73 KB |
Nine men were arrested within six days in connection with the possession of the carcasses of wild animals, live pangolins, and a python skin.
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NAM_2021_10_Nine men arrested for wildlife crime in one week_The Namibian.pdf | 275.97 KB |