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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 - 10 of 10
Thursday, 7 December 2023
Graig A 2023. Plant poaching a rising trend.

National Botanical Garden curator Leevi Nanyeni has called on Namibians to support the fight against the growing trend of poaching of vulnerable and indigenous plants. Namibia is home to some of the world's most unique plant species, all categorised, catalogued and preserved at the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) in the capital. "These days, we are increasingly dealing with plant poaching," Nanyeni said. "Plant poaching has become a tendency. I am already aware of up to ten registered cases of it – just between 2019 and 2023.

Wednesday, 6 December 2023
Graig A 2023. Plantstropery 'n gevaarlike neiging.

Die Nasionale Botaniese Tuin se kurator, Leevi Nanyeni, het 'n beroep op Namibiërs gedoen om die stryd teen die toenemende stropery van inheemse en kwesbare plante te ondersteun. Namibië huisves van die wêreld se mees unieke plantspesies, wat almal by die Nasionale Botaniese Navorsingsinstituut (NBRI) in die hoofstad gekategoriseer, gekatalogiseer en bewaar word. Nanyeni het kommer uitgespreek oor die groeiende tendens van plantstropery.

Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Naidoo D 2023. Rhino dehorning debate intensifies as poaching continues in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve.

Rhino Dehorning Debate Intensifies as Poaching Continues in Hluhluwe/iMfolozi Game Reserve. In the midst of an escalating rhino poaching crisis at the Hluhluwe/iMfolozi (HiP) game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, a contentious debate has arisen over whether dehorning rhinos is an effective strategy to protect them. While some argue that dehorning could deter poachers, others express concerns about its effectiveness and potential consequences. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, responsible for overseeing the park, has voiced reluctance regarding the dehorning approach.

Thursday, 19 January 2023
Nxumalo S 2023. Elephants to be relocated from KZN reserve to stem poaching 'slaughter'.

Pongola Game Reserve East (PGRE) in KwaZulu-Natal will move about 69 elephants back onto its property to other protected areas to stem a bloody poaching war. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife said they will engage the game reserve to relocate them as soon as protected areas with adequate carrying capacity for elephants have been identified. This was an attempt to resolve the long-standing human/wildlife conflict caused by elephants from the private game reserve and has contributed to the rise in elephant poaching incidents.

Friday, 13 January 2023
Naidoo D 2023. Gqeberha man arrested for possession of 1 620 units of protected abalone.

A Gqeberha man was arrested for suspected abalone poaching in the early hours of January 11, after vigilant Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Metro (NMBM) Police officers spotted a suspicious vehicle, a red Toyota Condor, which was leaking water from the rear end. The man was found travelling with eight bags of de-shelled abalone at around 3.45am in the Summerstrand and Humewood area.

Thursday, 1 December 2022
Naidoo D 2022. Suspected poacher nabbed with two elephant tusks.

A 39-year-old man is expected to appear before the Calcutta Magistrate's Court in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, today after he was arrested by the Nelspruit Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation, the White River K9 Unit and Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Authority.

Saturday, 19 November 2022
Naidoo D 2022. Rhino poacher sentenced to 34 years in jail.

A man has been sentenced to 34 years in prison for rhino poaching by a court in Mpumalanga. This comes against the backdrop of another court in the area sentencing a man to 17 years for rhino poaching. The Skukuza Regional Court sentenced Sipho Titus Khosa on Friday to 34 years in jail.

Wednesday, 20 July 2022
Naidoo D 2022. LOOK: Smugglers jailed for trading nearly one tonne of pangolin scales.

Last week, the People's Court of Hanoi, Vietnam, sentenced three women and one man to a collective 18 years imprisonment for the illegal transportation and trade of 984kg of pangolin scales, one of the largest cases of wildlife trading investigated in Vietnam's history.

Sunday, 8 May 2022
Nxumalo S 2022. Six alleged poachers arrested in a Howick Farm in KZN.

Magma Security and Investigations said while their officers were patrolling in the Karkloof area, a suspicious vehicle was observed on a client’s property just after 2am, on Sunday morning. It said that upon stopping the vehicle, the officers found six occupants with six dogs. "They had poached and killed two warthogs and six porcupines. Knives were found in their possession. Suspects were handed over to Howick SAPS," said Magma Magma Security and Investigations.

Wednesday, 20 May 2020
Kaelo D, Sopia D, Bell D, Diggle R, Nelson F 2020. From crisis to solutions for communities and African conservation (commentary).

The coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic has created a profound crisis for conservation efforts in eastern and southern Africa as a result of the sudden cessation of all international travel in a region where nature-based tourism and conservation are closely interdependent.  The region’s unique wildlife populations and other natural assets — centered on spectacular landscapes such as the Serengeti and Okavango — underpin a multi-billion dollar 'wildlife…

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