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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Three suspects were shot and fatally wounded in a shootout with police in the early hours of Wednesday, 31 January 2024. Police received intelligence that a group involved in serious crimes including murders committed in the Inanda area were hiding at the Lungelani Informal Settlement in La Mercy. A team comprising of various police disciplines including members of the Hawks descended on the location. Realising that they were surrounded, the suspects opened fire at the police and a shootout ensued.
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SA_2024_31_Three suspects fatally wounded in a shootout with police _SAPS.pdf | 101.56 KB |
"This award to the ranger team has come despite operating in the face of adversity, with the results of a positive growth population of rhino." "Under the protection of ATS, the rhino population in Save Valley Conservancy has seen a biological growth rate of 7%, this is above the 5% IUCN recommendation for game reserves protecting rhino, and maintained a poaching mortality rate of below 2%, also IUCN recommended," the WCPA statement read.
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ZIM_2022_07_Zim anti_poaching unit receives award_NewsDay.pdf | 481.69 KB |
In the war on poaching, some of the best defenders have four legs. Trained canines are used in some of South Africa's national parks to detect wildlife contraband like rhino horns, pangolin scales, and ivory at airports and roadblocks. Other dogs are trained to track and apprehend poachers in the field. According to Save the Rhino, 9,885 rhinos have been lost to poaching in the last decade. But Carl Thornton, founder and director of Pit-Track K9 Conservation and Anti-Poaching Unit, says the numbers are likely much higher.
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SA_2021_11_How Dogs Are Fighting Rhino Poaching_Treehugger.pdf | 574.43 KB |
An Otjiwarongo-based police constable and a pastor of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church were arrested on Friday in Omuthiya after they were found in possession of a rhino horn. A third accomplice from Oshana region was also arrested. The trio was apprehended around 02h15 after the police received a tipoff from Otjiwarongo that the suspects were allegedly carrying prohibited contents.
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NAM_2021_03_Cop pastor nabbed for possession of rhino horn_New Era.pdf | 362.74 KB |
Members of Upington Highway patrol have arrested a male suspect in connection with possession of Endangered Species. Police got information about the suspect yesterday and it was operationalized. The suspect was found at a hiking spot in Upington hitch hiking to Olifantshoek. He was searched and pangolin skin was found in his luggage. It is valued at about R108 750.00, weighing 2,05 kg.
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SA_2021-01_Man arrested for posession of pangolin skin_SAPS.pdf | 130.92 KB |
Northern Cape-The Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation has resulted in the arrest of a 48-year-old suspect for allegedly trading in a pangolin. The suspect who originates from Botswana was arrested on Tuesday after information surfaced that he intended selling a pangolin that is an endangered species. A sting operation resulted in the suspect being arrested after he was found in possession of the said pangolin.
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SA_2020-06_Services_SAPS.pdf | 134.41 KB |
An instructor at Valombola Vocational Training Center in Ongwediva and a member of the Namibian Defence Force attached to the Otavi military base, were on Sunday arrested by the Oshikoto police for illegal hunting.
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2019-07_NDF member nabbed for illegal hunting_New Era Live.pdf | 1.78 MB |