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.
Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.
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…
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).
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_04_Prison escapee rearrested at private game reserve is back in court_IOL.pdf | 142 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_03_Good Samaritan to the rescue after confiscating a poached grey duiker_IOL.pdf | 414.72 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_02_Suspects transporting abalone worth R200 000 from Mthatha to Bloemfontein nabbed_IOL.pdf | 219.02 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2023_02_Police arrest man for possession of endangered species including pangolins_IOL.pdf | 229.94 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2022_11_Ghanaian national sentenced for possession of over R3m abalone_IOL.pdf | 239.38 KB |
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.
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2022_01_Five arrested for possession of protected plants worth R600 000_IOL.pdf | 174.81 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2022_01_Nine Northern Cape suspects bust in Cape Town for possession of protected plants_IOL.pdf | 158.5 KB |
Cameroon has deployed its military forces to help rangers crack down on poachers on its eastern border with the Central African Republic. Cameroon wildlife officials say poaching is again increasing after pandemic restrictions saw a drop in the number of animals being killed. Officials say in the last week alone, poachers have killed at least eight elephants along the border. Cameroon's Forestry and Wildlife ministry says several dozen armed poachers are attacking elephants along the CAR border.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
CAM_2021_12_Cameroon deploys military to assist rangers as poaching increases_VOA News.pdf | 30.21 KB |
Durban - Two suspects were arrested in the posh Zimbali Eco Estate, on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, for dealing in elephant tusks.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2021_11_Two suspects arrested in posh Zimbali Eco Estate for dealing in elephant tusks_IOL.pdf | 506.11 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2021_09_How South Africa is tackling rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking_IOL.pdf | 310.43 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2021_07_Eastern Cape suspect busted with abalone worth over R3_7 million_IOL.pdf | 989.86 KB |
Cameroonian police say they have for the first time during the pandemic seized parts of an estimated 2,000 pangolins poached in Cameroon and neighboring Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Police say travel restrictions had slowed trafficking of the endangered anteater to Asia, where its meat is considered a delicacy and the scales are used in traditional medicine. At least 12 bags of Pangolin scales and leopard skin are in a police warehouse at Nlonkak, a neighborhood in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde.
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2021_06_Suspect arrested in Edgemead with over R1_7m worth of abalone to appear in court_IOL.pdf | 215.03 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2021_06_Seized trafficked rhino horns under lock and key_IOL.pdf | 392.21 KB |
It's clear why the illegal wildlife trade exists. Where there's consumer demand for products from endangered species, there are bound to be networks seeking to profit from that demand. But what about the motivations of individual offenders? TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade NGO, decided to simply ask them. The researchers interviewed 73 people in South African correctional centers, who had been convicted of crimes related to rhinos, abalone, or cycads (ancient palm-like plants that have been called "the world's most endangered plants").
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2020-12_Convicted poachers in South Africa explain why heavy policing is ineffective_Forbes.pdf | 350.26 KB |
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.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2020-11_Poachers evade KZN park s high_tech security and kill four rhinos for their horns_IOL.pdf | 204.57 KB |