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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 - 15 of 15
Thursday, 4 July 2024
Dlamini M 2024. Shifeta updates on wildlife protection efforts at National Stakeholder Forum.

The Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, provided a detailed overview of ongoing efforts in wildlife protection and law enforcement at the 2024 Annual National Stakeholder Forum held this week. According to Shifeta, Namibia has long been recognized for its successful conservation strategies, which have significantly reduced poaching rates since the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly targeting iconic species such as rhinos and elephants.

Wednesday, 8 May 2024
Dlamini M 2024. Namibian precious wildlife is under threat from criminals.

Namibia's precious wildlife is under threat from criminals, as illegal wildlife trade has become the world's fourth-largest form of transnational crime. This was said by Ana Beatriz Martins, the European Union's ambassador to Namibia, at a press debriefing for 'Operation Saving Wildlife through Multilateral Cooperation in Africa' (Sama) in Windhoek yesterday. She said dozens of wildlife species have been pushed ever closer to extinction by habitat loss and illegal trade.

Monday, 6 May 2024
Dlamini M 2024. Poachers killed in shootout with anti-poaching unit in Etosha National Park.

Chief of the Namibian Police, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo confirmed a deadly encounter between poachers and members of the anti-poaching operation in Etosha National Park. According to Shikongo, the incident occurred on 1 May between 12:00 and 13:00 at Scorpionbelt – Western Zone within the confines of the park. While conducting patrols alongside the park's fence, members of the poaching unit spotted shoeprints indicating the illegal entry of individuals into the park.

Thursday, 2 May 2024
Dlamini M 2024. Great white sharks off South Africas coast are protected by law, but not in practice.

In less than eight years, white sharks in South Africa have all but disappeared from their historical hotspots in False Bay and Gansbaai, on the Western Cape coast. These areas were once known as the "white shark capital of the world" and were home to a flourishing ecotourism industry. One possible explanation for this change would be a declining white shark population. We are part of an international research team with expertise in shark ecology, genetics, fisheries and conservation, researching sharks for more than 20 years.

Friday, 26 April 2024
Dlamini M 2024. British succulent society chair quits over row about taking specimens from wild.

A furious row has blown up in the UK's leading succulent society over the practice of taking desirable specimens from the wild, with the chair resigning in protest over the behaviour of his fellow enthusiasts. Succulents have risen in popularity in recent years: they are attractive and hardy. A succulent won the Royal Horticultural Society plant of the year award in the UK in 2022, while the plants have also become wildly popular in Asian countries, leading to a massive boom in demand. However, the drought-tolerant plants are often sourced from the wild.

Friday, 31 March 2023
Ngema T 2023. Good Samaritan to the rescue after confiscating a poached grey duiker.

Durban - A Good Samaritan came to the rescue of a poached duiker when he confiscated the animal from its poacher. The Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) reported that on Sunday it received a call from a concerned member of the public from Hammarsdale, who informed them that he had confiscated a male grey duiker as it was a victim of poaching.

Sunday, 19 June 2022
Ngema T 2022. Two suspects travelling from KZN to Gauteng arrested with two 'recently extracted' rhino horns.

Durban - Two suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday after the Hawks arrested them for being in possession of two ‘recently extracted’ rhino horns, while travelling from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng.

Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Ngema T 2021. Two suspects arrested in posh Zimbali Eco Estate for dealing in elephant tusks.

Durban - Two suspects were arrested in the posh Zimbali Eco Estate, on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, for dealing in elephant tusks.

Wednesday, 8 September 2021
Ngema T 2021. How South Africa is tackling rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking.

Durban - Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy said the department was using integrated approaches to address the increase in rhino poaching and horn trafficking. That was revealed in a parliamentary question from the IFP’s environmental affairs, forestry and fisheries spokesperson, Narend Singh. A total of 249 rhinos were poached for their horn in South Africa from January to the end of June this year and although the number was higher compared to last year, where 166 rhinos were killed, it was less than the 318 rhinos that were poached in 2019.

Wednesday, 2 June 2021
Ngema T 2021. Seized trafficked rhino horns under lock and key.

Durban - Rhino horns worth in excess of R230 million intercepted at the OR Tambo International Airport between July last year and February this year were being kept at a secure location, said Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Barbara Creecy. She was responding to written parliamentary questions submitted by the DA’s David Bryant. He had asked about the whereabouts of the rhino horns and whether they had been destroyed.

Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Ngema T 2020. Poachers evade KZN park's high-tech security and kill four rhinos for their horns.

The artificial intelligence (AI) cameras installed in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park failed to detect poachers after four dehorned rhinos were found last week. The carcasses were found on different days and appeared to have been killed a few days earlier.

Friday, 7 August 2020
Nyasha N 2020. Rhino poaching in Namibia down 63% on tougher policing, penalties.

Rhino poaching fell 63% year-on-year in Namibia, the ministry of environment said on Friday, citing intensified intelligence operations by authorities and tougher sentences and fines for poachers.

Monday, 27 July 2020
Paulino C 2020. Dismantled poaching net and gun snipers.

In all, 11 nationals, including firearm suppliers, poachers and game vendors, were arrested last week in Luengue-Luiana National Park, Cuando Cubango province.

Thursday, 19 October 2017
Dlamini M 2017. Initiative to save the pangolin.

The Namibian Chamber of Environment has launched an outreach programme to educate Namibians about the precarious status of the pangolinThe initiative, which involves producing large posters and thousands of business card-sized mini-posters for distribution countrywide, is to raise awareness and appeal to every Namibian to help stop the illegal trade in the animal.

Thursday, 19 October 2017
Dlamini M 2017. Initiative to save the pangolin.

The Namibian Chamber of Environment has launched an outreach programme to educate Namibians about the precarious status of the pangolin. The initiative, which involves producing large posters and thousands of business card-sized mini-posters for distribution countrywide, is to raise awareness and appeal to every Namibian to help stop the illegal trade in the animal.

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