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 is investigating some of its workers at Etosha National Park for possibly playing a part in the rhino poaching syndicate which recently left 11 of the mammals dead. Addressing the media yesterday environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said they suspect the "act" was an inside job. All the rhinos killed were also dehorned. He said the ministry is broadening investigations to determine whether its workers were complicit in the matter.
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NAM_2022_06_Government probes workers for poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 509.23 KB |
Environment, Forestry and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta says the recent discoveries of 11 dead rhinos are an indication that the country needs to up its game in curbing wildlife crime. This comes after the rhino carcasses were discovered at Etosha National Park, since the beginning of June to date, with their horns removed.
The Environment and Tourism Ministry says it has discovered 11 rhino carcasses at the Etosha National Park since the beginning of this month. According to the ministry's spokesperson Romeo Muyunda, investigations indicate the carcasses are at least three weeks old. "This is regrettable and a strong indication that the fight against poaching is not over," he said. To date, 22 rhinos have been poached this year.
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NAM_2022_06_Eleven rhino carcasses found at Etosha_The Namibian.pdf | 553.15 KB |
Elephant ivory is still being sold on eBay despite the online marketplace introducing a ban more than a decade ago, researchers have found. Sellers are misrepresenting the materials used in certain items and sometimes using "code words" to disguise illicit listings, researchers from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent, in England, said in a statement on Monday. In 2008, eBay announced it was introducing a global ban on the sale of ivory starting on January 1, 2009. "Despite eBay's strict policy on…
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INT_2021_01_Elephant ivory still being sold on eBay despite 12_year ban, research finds_CNN.pdf | 180.51 KB |
Namibia has recorded a drastic drop in rhino and elephant poaching cases in the past three years because of improved response mechanisms, the government said yesterday. Minister of environment Pohamba Shifeta said the country has seen a reduction in rhino poaching numbers from 78 cases in 2018, 49 in 2019 and 17 so far this year.
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NAM_2020-07_Rhino_elephant poaching cases down_The Namibian.pdf | 267.91 KB |
Please allow me space in your esteemed newspaper to air my views regarding the latest review of the law that was passed by lawmakers to deal with poachers and would-be poachers.
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NAM_2017-08_Poaching versus Human Lives_The Namibian.pdf | 238.3 KB |
The four suspected poachers who were arrested on Saturday following a shoot-out with the police at Khorixas will remain in custody after the court denied them bail.
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NAM_2017-06_Suspected poachers remanded in custody_The Namibian.pdf | 217.05 KB |
A man suspected of having travelled from Namibia was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport on Friday in connection with 12 rhino horns found in express air parcels.
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NAM_2017-03_Suspected Nam rhino horns seized in China_The Namibian.pdf | 213.05 KB |
Three suspects were arrested on Tuesday evening at Tjova village in Kavango East after being found in possession of 13 elephant tusks by a joint police and ministry of environment patrol. Police spokesperson Kauna Shikwambi yesterday said police arrested a Namibian and two Angolans, aged 27, 42 and 50, respectively, during an intelligence-led investigation.
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NAM_2017-01_Three arrested with 13 elephant tusks_The Namibian.pdf | 564.36 KB |
He was tending to his employer's cattle and not poaching, the suspected poacher shot and wounded by police on Wednesday at a farm in the Outjo district said yesterday.
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NAM_2017-01_Man shot by police said he was not poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 531.25 KB |
A suspected poacher was shot and wounded by police yesterday at Farm Harrisy near Etosha National Park, bringing the number of those injured to two since December last year. Three others were shot dead at Bwabwata National Park last week following the invocation of the Criminal Procedure Act where police are instructed to shoot poachers in self-defence.
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NAM_2017-01_Police shoot suspected poacher_The Namibian.pdf | 247.54 KB |
The poaching of rhinos and elephants in Namibia is not a crisis because only about 1,2% are poached per year, said environment minister Pohamba Shifeta.
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NAM_2016-12_Shifeta says poaching not a crisis_The Namibian.pdf | 524.75 KB |
Six people found carrying rifles in the Etosha National Park last week were arrested after a wounded rhino was found in the area.
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NAM_2016-12_Six arrested in Etosha_The Namibian.pdf | 189.19 KB |
A Chinese man was arrested on Wednesday in South Africa when he was found with 18 rhino horns worth R6,6 million which are suspected to have been smuggled from Namibia.
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NAM_2016-11_Chinese national arrested with 18 rhino horns_The Namibian.pdf | 965.73 KB |
Government yesterday condemned the random shooting of Namibian citizens suspected of being poachers at the Botswana border, saying the authorities in that country are too quick to pull the trigger.
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NAM_2015-07_Government condemns Botswana for shooting Namibians_The Namibian.pdf | 290.5 KB |
Yet another black rhino was poached in the Omatendeka Conservancy in Southern Kunene over the weekend, bringing the total number of poached rhinos in the country to 69 this year. The rhino is the fifth to be poached in the same area within a couple of months. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism confirmed yesterday that five people were arrested in connection with the incident after they were discovered with two rhino horns in their possession.
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NAM_2015-06_Rhino carcass discovered at Omatendeka Conservancy_The Namibian.pdf | 222.79 KB |
Ninety-five black rhinos and eight white rhinos have been poached in Namibia since 2005, the ministry of environment and tourism revealed yesterday. Minister of environment Pohamba Shifeta said this, when he revealed the outcome of tests conducted on the latest rhino and elephant carcasses discovered since 2014.
Shifeta said over the last 10 years, 294 black rhinos died of natural causes, while 95 others were poached and seven others were killed for trophy hunting.
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NAM_2015-09_103 rhinos poached in the last 10 years_The Namibian.pdf | 222.78 KB |