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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, 13 April 2023
Dube M 2023. Botswana on alert after shooting of rhinos in sanctuary.

Botswana's wildlife authorities say four rhinoceroses were shot, and two of them died, in a heavily guarded sanctuary, although their horns were not removed. The shootings at the sanctuary in central Botswana came after the government de-horned and relocated most of the rhinos further inland to discourage poachers.

Thursday, 17 November 2022
Dube M 2022. Rhino poaching way down in Botswana.

Botswana said it's seen a dramatic drop in rhinoceros poaching this year after taking greater steps to protect its shrinking rhino population. The significant decline was revealed in a report presented this week at a conference on CITES - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. After losing 126 animals between 2018 and 2021, only six rhinoceroses have been poached in Botswana in 2022.
The report says poaching incidents peaked in 2020 when the country lost 62 rhinos. The following year, at least 33 were reported killed by poachers.

Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Masweneng K 2021. Money laundering and wads of cash giving illegal wildlife traders the upper hand.

"It is not uncommon for the money flows associated with illegal wildlife trade (IWT) to be linked to other crimes, such as fraudulent documentation or paperwork, trade-based money laundering including over-, under-, or fictitious invoicing, as well as corruption to facilitate the inflow of funds into SA," said the report. It emphasised that wildlife and wildlife products from SA are in high demand globally, with China and other Asian countries representing the largest markets.

Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Dube M 2021. Botswana allays concerns over rhino poaching crisis.

Botswana wildlife authorities have refuted reports the country's rhinoceros population is on the verge of extinction due to poaching. The southern African country has battled a rise in poaching, with more than 60 animals killed in the last two years.

Monday, 19 April 2021
Masweneng K 2021. Five poaching suspects arrested in Kruger National Park.

An anti-poaching operation in the Kruger National Park at the weekend netted five suspected poachers. It was described as a "fruitful" weekend in the Pretoriuskop section of the park, where the suspects were found in possession of ammunition, a silencer and two high-calibre hunting rifles. "We are delighted with our anti-poaching teams who were able to arrest suspects before any animal was killed. The actions are a morale booster for our anti-poaching teams and conservation efforts," said Gareth Coleman, managing executive of the park.

Tuesday, 2 March 2021
Dube M 2021. Botswana Denies 120 Rhinos Poached in 18 Months.

Botswana, confronting an unprecedented rise in poaching, has refuted reports by former President Ian Khama that at least 120 rhinoceroses have been killed in the last 18 months. Instead, the government says, wildlife crimes have dropped by 70 percent since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sunday, 13 September 2020
Dube M 2020. Botswana parliament rejects call to arm game rangers.

Botswana's National Assembly has rejected a call to rearm its game rangers that was driven by a surge in rhinoceros poaching in recent years. Guns were taken away from the rangers in 201, but an opposition party lawmaker had moved a motion to rearm the wildlife officers.

Thursday, 20 August 2020
Dube M 2020. Botswana moves to rearm rangers as rhino poaching intensifies.

Botswana has decided to re-arm its wildlife rangers as the southern African country battles increased cases of poaching. In the last six months, at least 17 poachers have been killed in gunfire exchanges with the army. The government had disarmed wildlife rangers in 2018, saying that under the law, only the military was allowed the use of firearms during anti-poaching patrols. With the country losing 56 rhinoceros to poachers in the last two years, the government is reconsidering that approach. Wildlife and Tourism …

Friday, 3 April 2020
Tswanya Y 2020. American nabbed with 354 plants by CapeNature sentenced.

Cape Town - An American citizen has been sentenced to two years in jail, suspended for five years, and further banned from the country for the illegal possession of indigenous plants. Kalman Kaminar was sentenced in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on two counts of illegal possession of succulent plants declared as protected.

Friday, 23 May 2014
Louw J 2014. Don't Hand our Legacy to Chinese.

I am part of the public voice bidding that the three Chinese men found with 14 rhino horn in their bags – at Hosea Kutako airport (well done, Security!) – must remain in prison without bail. Thus far, I feel and believe that the judge has made the right decision in keeping them there.

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