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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Three suspects were shot and fatally wounded in a shootout with police in the early hours of Wednesday, 31 January 2024. Police received intelligence that a group involved in serious crimes including murders committed in the Inanda area were hiding at the Lungelani Informal Settlement in La Mercy. A team comprising of various police disciplines including members of the Hawks descended on the location. Realising that they were surrounded, the suspects opened fire at the police and a shootout ensued.
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SA_2024_31_Three suspects fatally wounded in a shootout with police _SAPS.pdf | 101.56 KB |
Members of Upington Highway patrol have arrested a male suspect in connection with possession of Endangered Species. Police got information about the suspect yesterday and it was operationalized. The suspect was found at a hiking spot in Upington hitch hiking to Olifantshoek. He was searched and pangolin skin was found in his luggage. It is valued at about R108 750.00, weighing 2,05 kg.
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SA_2021-01_Man arrested for posession of pangolin skin_SAPS.pdf | 130.92 KB |
Gunshot technology ShotSpotter is being used to deter rhino poaching in Kruger National Park, helping authorities reduce unsanctioned killings by 60% inside the park’s Intensified Protection Zone (IPZ). South Africa, which holds nearly 80% of the world's rhinos, has been the country hit hardest by poaching criminals, with more than 1 000 rhinos killed each year between 2013 and 2017. Kruger is a critical poaching area.
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SA_2020-07_Gunshot tech helps Kruger Park reduce rhino poaching_ITWeb.pdf | 175.31 KB |
Northern Cape-The Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation has resulted in the arrest of a 48-year-old suspect for allegedly trading in a pangolin. The suspect who originates from Botswana was arrested on Tuesday after information surfaced that he intended selling a pangolin that is an endangered species. A sting operation resulted in the suspect being arrested after he was found in possession of the said pangolin.
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SA_2020-06_Services_SAPS.pdf | 134.41 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 |
Police inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga yesterday said he will take stiff measures on officers who were on duty at Hosea Kutako International Airport when the Chinese national smuggled 18 rhino horns out of Namibia.
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NAM_2016-11_Ndeitunga breathes fire over rhino horns_The Namibian.pdf | 551 KB |
Deputy minister of environment Tommy Nambahu has repeated his stance that the release of suspected rhino poachers is hampering the ministry's efforts to fight the scourge.
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NAM_2016-07_Concern over release of poachers as three are arrested with rhino horns_The Namibian.pdf | 576.11 KB |
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism projects to have spent over a billion dollars in anti-poaching operations by the end of this year since the operation started two years ago.
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NAM_2016-03_Poaching war to cost a billion_The Namibian.pdf | 249.89 KB |
Four more rhino carcasses were found at Grootberg Lodge in Kunene region in late December last year.
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NAM_2016-01_Rhino poaching toll at 80_The Namibian.pdf | 974.5 KB |
Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta says he is not aware of any ministers or former members of parliament involved in poaching. Meanwhile, police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga says he cannot deny that ministers or members of parliament were involved in poaching, but he wanted to know who they are so he can lay his hands on them. The minister and the police chief were reacting to reports in the Namibian Sun that NamRights executive director Phil ya Nangoloh had allegedly submitted a report to Ndeitunga in which political leaders are accused of involvement in…
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NAM_2015-12_Shifeta unaware of ministers who poach_The Namibian.pdf | 462.12 KB |
The Tourism minister has accused some traditional leaders and businesspeople of being used as middlemen by poaching syndicates.
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NAM_2015-07_Poaching syndicates use locals_The Namibian.pdf | 687.89 KB |
In a move to control rhino poaching, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism started constructing a proper boundary fence to protect animals in the Etosha National Park. The fencing is expected to cost an estimated N$700 000 per kilometre. Etosha measures 824 kilometres, and the ministry would need about N$576 million to fence it all. The ministry, however, does not have enough funds for the project and has requested an additional N$167 million during this financial year. It was allocated about N$643 million in the 2015/2016 national budget.
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NAM_2015-06_Fencing Etosha to prevent poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 436.57 KB |
Poachers should be ashamed of themselves for killing innocent animals, said deputy minister of environment and tourism Tommy Nambahu. Just a week ago, Nambahu explained that the ministry was aware that local people are being used in the poaching of elephants and rhinos. "Shame on them for doing what they are doing to innocent animals. I have never heard of a rhino destroying a mahangu field or killing anyone. Why must it be killed because someone wants its parts?" he asked.
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NAM_2015-05_Nambahu shames poachers_The Namibian.pdf | 456.78 KB |
Sensational disclosures are the stuff of journalism. Good journalism however, requires that these disclosures are accurate and the interpretation of the facts is rational and reasonable. A recent front page lead "Wildlife staff probed in Kunene rhino poaching" requires a response.
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NAM_2015-02_Rhino poaching in the Kunene_a field perspective_The Namibian.pdf | 438.18 KB |