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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.

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Displaying results 1 - 7 of 7
Monday, 5 June 2023
Coetzer M 2023. Pangolin trafficking and related arrests on the uptick.

Multiple arrests have been made recently in connection with pangolin trafficking in operations in Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga. Prof Ray Jansen, founding member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Pangolin Specialist Group, and his partners rescued a trafficked pangolin in Midrand in a sting operation last week. It was the 12th pangolin rescued this year. Jansen said the pangolin was in a critical condition and might not survive.

Monday, 30 January 2023
Nyaungwa N 2023. Namibia rhino poaching surges 93%, mainly in Etosha National Park.

The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached a record high in 2022 after 87 animals were killed compared to 45 in 2021, official government data showed on Monday. Africa's rhino population has been decimated over the decades to feed demand for rhino horn, which, despite being made of the same stuff as rhino hair and fingernails, is prized in East Asia as jewellery and fake medicine. The horns are worth tens of thousands of dollars in illegal Asian markets. The ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said poachers…

Wednesday, 22 June 2022
Movirongo C 2022. Conservation groups join forces to ramp up efforts to curb illegal wildlife trade.

The Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) and Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) recently announced a long-term landmark partnership focused on better comprehending the current state of knowledge about the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), and the economics of IWT in southern Africa.

Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Movirongo C 2022. Environment Ministry moves to intensify security adjustments - Ropes in retired Commissioner.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) has confirmed that it has moved to make security adjustments and to close any loopholes in Etosha National Park to ensure that wildlife crimes, poaching incidences, in particular, do not occur again.

Friday, 21 May 2021
Coetzer M 2021. PICS: Alleged poachers caught trying to sell pangolin in Midrand.

Three alleged pangolin poachers were bust red-handed and arrested when they tried to sell an animal to a "potential client" at a Shell garage on the N1 in Midrand on Friday. Olivia was the seventh pangolin rescued this year from poachers.

Thursday, 4 February 2021
Movirongo C 2021. Elevated measures set to address poaching in the country - Minister.

"In 2020, we recorded a total of 31 rhinos poached compared to 52 in 2019, 81 in 2018, 55 in 2017, 66 in 2016 and 97 in 2015," Shifeta said. The minister added that by the same token, Namibia recorded a total of 11 elephants poached in 2020, 13 in 2019, 27 in 2018, 50 in 2017, 101 in 2016 and 49 in 2015. As for pangolin, eight live animals have been seized in 2020 as well as five full carcasses, 59 skins, five skin pieces and 924 scales, he added.

Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Ministry of Safety and Security 2019. Combatting Wildlife Crime in Namibia Annual Report 2019.

This report covers the period 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019.

The first annual report on combatting wildlife crime in Namibia is a noteworthy milestone. Wildlife crime has become one of the central conservation challenges of our time. Namibia’s response to this, since the current wave of crime began, has been underpinned by one central factor – strong partnerships.

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