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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Windhoek, March 04-Namibia boasts a healthy population of wildlife species, and its conservation efforts are held in high regard globally. However, recent poaching statistics reveal a troubling trend, with the country losing a total of 631 rhinos over the past decade. According to Romeo Muyunda, spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Namibia recorded 97 rhino poachings in 2015, 66 in 2016, 55 in 2017, 84 in 2018, 61 in 2019, 48 in 2020, 53 in 2021, 92 in 2022, 67 in 2023, and 8 in 2024 to date.
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NAM_2024_03_Rhino_poaching still a major concern for Namibian Government_Namibia Daily News.pdf | 452.17 KB |
No elephant has been killed by poachers in five years in the Gorongosa National Park, located in the central Mozambican province of Sofala. This information was provided on October 20, 2022 in Maputo by the head of the Department of Conservation in the National Park, Ângelo Levi, during a debate on the theme The Challenges of Conservation of Animal and Forest Life, promoted by Nedbank Mozambique, as part of the commemorations of World Animal Day.
Two Mbire poachers were yesterday sentenced to a combined 20-year jail term by Guruve magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa over possession of 34,12kg of elephant tusks.
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ZIM_2021_10_Mbire poachers jailed 20 years_NewsDay.pdf | 343.06 KB |
Three Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) officials are battling for life at a hospital in Harare after they were recently severely assaulted by suspected poachers in Mushumbi, Mashonaland Central province.
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ZIM_2021_08_Poachers axe ZimParks rangers_NewsDay Zimbabwe.pdf | 95.48 KB |
A plot by a jealous Guruve man to get his ex-wife and her boyfriend imprisoned by planting ivory on her hit a snag after he was arrested for possession of ivory.
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ZIM_2021_07_Jealous man plants ivory in ex_wifes toilet_News Day.pdf | 161.36 KB |
It's clear why the illegal wildlife trade exists. Where there's consumer demand for products from endangered species, there are bound to be networks seeking to profit from that demand. But what about the motivations of individual offenders? TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade NGO, decided to simply ask them. The researchers interviewed 73 people in South African correctional centers, who had been convicted of crimes related to rhinos, abalone, or cycads (ancient palm-like plants that have been called "the world's most endangered plants").
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SA_2020-12_Convicted poachers in South Africa explain why heavy policing is ineffective_Forbes.pdf | 350.26 KB |