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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 - 14 of 14
Monday, 22 July 2024
Singh K 2024. King Misuzulu issues warning to communities against damaging Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife game reserves' fencing.

King Misuzulu kaZwelithini issued a warning to criminals within communities to stop damaging Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife game reserves’ fencing including cutting fences and stealing poles. The King was speaking during a meeting with an Ezemvelo delegation at his palace in Pongola on Thursday. During his presentation to the King, Ezemvelo chief executive officer Sihle Mkhize, informed the King that Ezemvelo faces challenges beyond rhino poaching, including criminals within neighbouring communities stealing fence materials and poles.

Thursday, 7 December 2023
Francke R-L 2023. PICS: Traditional medicine store owner arrested after several fox skins, elephant foot for muti found.

After a four-month operation, the owner of a traditional medicine store in Cape Town has been arrested after police confiscated various illegal fauna and flora. The store owner is expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court soon. The Western Cape police spokesperson, Captain Frederick van Wyk said in order to address the illegal and ongoing stripping of bark from protected tree species in Table Mountain National Park, Environmental Crime Investigation (ECI) Cape Town identified a shop in Cape Town which purchased bark and other items from illegal suppliers for muti…

Thursday, 13 April 2023
Francke R-L 2023. Prison escapee rearrested at private game reserve is back in court.

Cape Town - A 34-year-old man, who escaped from the Makhanda Correctional Facility in October 2022, appeared in court on new charges. "The suspect was found in possession of hunting implements, and was detained for contravening the National Environmental Management and Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 Sec 57 (attempted hunting of a threatened or protected species without a permit).

Thursday, 16 February 2023
Francke R-L 2023. Suspects transporting abalone worth R200 000 from Mthatha to Bloemfontein nabbed.

Two suspects are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Friday on charges of illegal possession of abalone, reckless and negligent driving and assault on a police official.

Monday, 13 February 2023
Francke R-L 2023. Police arrest man for possession of endangered species, including pangolins.

A Lesotho national is expected to appear in the Ganyesa Magistrate’s Court in the North West on Monday for possession of endangered species. During the operation, a search was conducted in a house at Tlakgameng, leading to the discovery of two pangolins, two dead rock pythons and two dead monkeys.

Friday, 4 November 2022
Francke R-L 2022. Ghanaian national sentenced for possession of over R3m abalone.

Cape Town - A 50-year-old Ghanaian national was sentenced in the Kroonstad Regional Court in the Free State after he pleaded guilty for being in possession of abalone.

Tuesday, 16 August 2022
Semcer CE 2022. Rhino poaching and assassination highlights need for private wildlife conservancies to move beyond tourism.

South Africa has experienced an increase in rhino poaching following a lull during the Covid-19 lockdown. Earlier this month, the country's Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment reported that 259 rhinos had been poached during the first half of 2022. This is a four percent increase in the number of animals killed during the same period last year. Rhino poaching incidents appear to be moving away from South Africa's national parks and into private wildlife conservancies where roughly 40 percent of the country's rhinos are found.

Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Singh K 2022. KZN man gets 28-year prison sentence for poaching rhino in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve.

Durban - A 45-year-old man convicted of rhino poaching was sentenced to 28 years in prison by the Empangeni Regional Court.

Monday, 17 January 2022
Francke R-L 2022. Five arrested for possession of protected plants worth R600 000.

Cape Town - Police in the Northern Cape have arrested five suspects for the possession of protected plants worth over R600 000. According to the provincial police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sergio Kock, offcers attached to the Springbok Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit, Springbok K9 unit and the Springbok Highway Patrol arrested five male suspects along the N14 highway near Springbok on Thursday.

Monday, 10 January 2022
Francke R-L 2022. Nine Northern Cape suspects bust in Cape Town for possession of protected plants.

Cape Town - Nine suspects are expected to appear in the Goodwood Magistrate's Court soon after they were found to be in possession of protected plants. According to the Northern Cape's provincial police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sergio Kock, police members from the Springbok and Kuilsriver Stock Theft and Endangered Species Units (STESU) successfully conducted a joint buy and bust operation.

Thursday, 25 November 2021
Hutchings M 2021. Almost 900kgs of South African rhino horns destined for Asian countries seized between 2014 and 2021.

The Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana has revealed that over the past 10 years, rhino horns weighing 865kg were seized during Sars Customs border operations between 2014 and 2021. Countries where rhino horns have been trafficked to include Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Dubai, Turkey and Nigeria.

Friday, 23 July 2021
Francke R-L 2021. Eastern Cape suspect busted with abalone worth over R3.7 million .

Cape Town - Police in the Eastern Cape have arrested a 38-year-old suspect and confiscated abalone with an approximate street value of R3.7 million.

Wednesday, 23 June 2021
Francke R-L 2021. Suspect arrested in Edgemead with over R1.7m worth of abalone to appear in court.

Cape Town - A 45-year-old man is expected to appear in the Goodwood magistrate's court on Wednesday after he was found in possession of abalone worth over R1.7 million in Cape Town’s northern suburb of Edgemead.

Friday, 4 December 2020
Singh K 2020. KZN wildlife under siege from illegal hunters.

KwaZulu-Natal wildlife is "under attack" by illegal hunters across the province says Blessed Gwala, the IFP spokesperson for community safety and liaison. Last week the carcasses of four dehorned rhinos were found in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.

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