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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The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has recorded 28 cases of rhino poaching in Namibia this year so far. Out of these 28 cases, 19 rhinos were poached in the Etosha National Park, and 10 carcasses of the animals were discovered during dehorning operations in March. The Ministry’s spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, has expressed concern about the poaching situation in the Etosha National Park, which is a flagship tourist attraction in Namibia. The park has a high number of rhinos and other wildlife species.
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NAM_2024_04_Security cluster to meet after 28 rhino were poached this year_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 198.8 KB |
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism has raised alarm over the serious threat facing pangolins in Namibia. According to Romeo Muyunda, the Ministry's spokesperson, there has been a notable increase in pangolin trafficking cases from September to November this year, leading to a significant concern for the survival of this species. Muyunda disclosed that during this period, authorities have confiscated a total of 18 pangolin skins, 12 live pangolins, and 146 pangolin scales. This has resulted in 23 registered cases and the apprehension of 38 suspects.
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NAM_2023_12_Pangolins under serious threat_Environment Ministry observes_Windhoek Observer.pdf | 253.76 KB |
The suspects were arrested in Vryburg yesterday, after being found in possession of a pangolin. Just a few days after four men were arrested for trying to sell pangolins at a mall in Mahikeng, another quartet has been apprehended for being in possession of the endangered species in Vryburg, North West.
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SA_2023_06_Four suspects nabbed for possession of a pangolin_The Citizen.pdf | 336.69 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.
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SA_2023_03_Good Samaritan to the rescue after confiscating a poached grey duiker_IOL.pdf | 414.72 KB |
Botswana's government has presented to the ongoing CITES CoP-19 in Panama a detailed document on the country's efforts to contain rhino poaching which increased at least 100 fold between 2018 and 2020. The country recorded two rhino poaching incidents in the five years between 2012 and 2017 with zero incidents reported in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017.
Botswana' Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has confirmed the recent arrest of a man found in possession of a live pangolin in the capital Gaborone. The department says the incident was reported to them by the Botswana Police, raising concern about the continued poaching of pangolins.
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BOT_2022_11_Botswana man arrested for possession of live pangolin_Independent.pdf | 277.61 KB |
A white rhino has reportedly been killed and dehorned by poachers inside the protected Khama Rhino Sanctuary (KRS) in Botswana. Two separate conservationists have reported about the killing. One conservationist told this publication that their sources inside the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) confirmed the incident. "Two weeks ago a white rhino was poached at Khama Rhino Sanctuary but they are denying it happened at their property but sources inside DWNP confirm it was indeed at KRS."
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BOT_08_Rhino killed at Khama Sanctuary_Sunday Standard.pdf | 437.09 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.
"The absence of tourists in conservation areas enables poachers to act more freely. In normal times, tourists act as additional 'eyes and ears' in conservation areas, and their presence deters poachers from acting, but the decline in tourism activity emboldened poachers," a UK government report on the impact of Covid-19 on poaching has said.
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BOT_2022_04_Increased movement in wildlife areas reduces poaching activities_Sunday Standard.pdf | 343.45 KB |
Poaching intensified over the past three years following the 2018 decision by the government to disarm the anti-poaching unit under the DWNP. The 100+ rhinos poached since the disarmament represents a 100+ percent increase in poaching incidents when compared to the previous three years when Botswana lost one rhino per annum in the preceding 2015, 2016, and 2017 when the unit had firearms. There were at least 12 rhinos poached in 2018, 29 rhinos in 2019, and over 50 poached by the end of 2020.
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BOT_2021_11_Botswana struggles with rising cases of rhino poaching_Independent Co.pdf | 716.01 KB |
Durban - Two suspects were arrested in the posh Zimbali Eco Estate, on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, for dealing in elephant tusks.
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SA_2021_11_Two suspects arrested in posh Zimbali Eco Estate for dealing in elephant tusks_IOL.pdf | 506.11 KB |
Maputo - The Inhambane Provincial Court in southern Mozambique has sentenced a 51 year old Chinese citizen, Liu Rong Wu, to 14 years imprisonment, for his involvement in an environmental crime consisting of an attempt to smuggle about nine kilos of dried seahorses out of the country, reports the independent television station STV. Liu had packed the seahorses, which are legally protected, and intended to ferry them to China where they would be used in the fraudulent racket known as "traditional Chinese medicine".
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.
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SA_2021_09_How South Africa is tackling rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking_IOL.pdf | 310.43 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.
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SA_2021_06_Seized trafficked rhino horns under lock and key_IOL.pdf | 392.21 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.
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SA_2020-11_Poachers evade KZN park s high_tech security and kill four rhinos for their horns_IOL.pdf | 204.57 KB |
The Director of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Brigadier Peter Magosi has defended government’s decision to dehorn Botswana’s rhinos as an anti-poaching control measure. Magosi has said the dehorning of rhinos was the only way they could ensure protection of the animals from poachers.
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BOT_2020-07_Its better to show tourists a dehorned rhino than nothing at all_Magosi_Sunday Standard.pdf | 197.57 KB |