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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.

Botswana's government has presented to the ongoing CITES CoP-19 in Panama a detailed document on the country's efforts to contain rhino poaching which increased at least 100 fold between 2018 and 2020. The country recorded two rhino poaching incidents in the five years between 2012 and 2017 with zero incidents reported in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017.

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.

Botswana' Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has confirmed the recent arrest of a man found in possession of a live pangolin in the capital Gaborone. The department says the incident was reported to them by the Botswana Police, raising concern about the continued poaching of pangolins.

A white rhino has reportedly been killed and dehorned by poachers inside the protected Khama Rhino Sanctuary (KRS) in Botswana. Two separate conservationists have reported about the killing. One conservationist told this publication that their sources inside the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) confirmed the incident. "Two weeks ago a white rhino was poached at Khama Rhino Sanctuary but they are denying it happened at their property but sources inside DWNP confirm it was indeed at KRS."

"The absence of tourists in conservation areas enables poachers to act more freely. In normal times, tourists act as additional 'eyes and ears' in conservation areas, and their presence deters poachers from acting, but the decline in tourism activity emboldened poachers," a UK government report on the impact of Covid-19 on poaching has said.

Poaching intensified over the past three years following the 2018 decision by the government to disarm the anti-poaching unit under the DWNP. The 100+ rhinos poached since the disarmament represents a 100+ percent increase in poaching incidents when compared to the previous three years when Botswana lost one rhino per annum in the preceding 2015, 2016, and 2017 when the unit had firearms. There were at least 12 rhinos poached in 2018, 29 rhinos in 2019, and over 50 poached by the end of 2020.

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.

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 Director of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Brigadier Peter Magosi has defended government’s decision to dehorn Botswana’s rhinos as an anti-poaching control measure. Magosi has said the dehorning of rhinos was the only way they could ensure protection of the animals from poachers.

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.

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.