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The consequences for local ecosystems and communities are serious, [including the] deterioration of natural capital, social stability and cohesion; extinction of animal species; and erosion of sustainable economic development. South Africa is home to the world's largest rhino population and is a key source for the illicit supply chain. In the first six months of this year, 231 rhinos were killed in South African game reserves. Of these, 143 were in KwaZulu-Natal.

After weeks of being kept in cramped spaces, deprived of food and water, many pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade don't survive. But those who survive are given a second chance at some of South Africa's private game reserves, including &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. Since 2019, &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve has successfully reintroduced several pangolins onto its property, with a number of them having bred and produced a second generation of these endangered animals.

Despite farmers' concerns that stock theft and poaching in the Erongo region's north-west district has reached crisis levels, Erongo police commander commissioner Nikolaus Kupembona says the challenges are manageable as long as strategies are put in place. He says ongoing stock theft and poaching involve "isolated incidents". "It starts with the farmers' own security measures.

Cattle rustlers and poachers are terrorising farmers in the Erongo and Otjozondjupa regions, including in the Omaruru, Kalkfeld, Otjiwarongo and Waterberg areas. Namibian Agricultural Union executive council member Günther Kahl, who is also a farmer, told The Namibian last week that livestock theft and poaching have spiralled out of control, leaving the farming community distraught and enraged. Statistics reveal losses running into millions of dollars and large numbers of livestock and game since 2013. "We face the slaughtering of cattle every day.

Erongo law enforcement officers on Monday evening arrested a 49-year-old Namibian man at a mini- shop at Okombahe for possessing illegal python skins and an unlicensed revolver. The arrest was a result of an intelligence-led operation, according to Erongo police spokesperson inspector Ileni Shapumba. "The person was found with two python skins, which he kept in a plastic bag in his shop," said Shapumba. The skins are valued at N$60 000. Python is a protected species under the Nature Conservation Act.

Rangers at South African game reserves have been implicated in supplying information to rhino poachers. This is one of the forms of corruption that the Wildlife Justice Commission says is fueling wildlife crime. However, SANParks says it is implementing measures to reduce corruption, including a polygraph testing system.

The Hawks have arrested a man in connection with the theft of 51 rhino horns. The horns were stolen from a stockpile in the North West. The man is expected to appear in court on Monday to face a charge of business robbery.

Fifty rhino horns stolen from a stockpile in the North West will likely leave South Africa as beads, mugs, or souvenirs, experts have said. The stockpile was stolen in the early hours of Monday morning from the North West Parks and Tourism Board in Mahikeng. Reports suggest the robbers evaded security measures, alarms, security cameras and bypassed the locking mechanism of the vault. Experts have speculated that the rhino horns may already be on their way to Asian markets, based on insights into how wildlife crime syndicates operate.

A 43-year-old suspect is due to appear in the Omaruru Magistrate’s Court next week, after he
was arrested on Thursday for illegally hunting kudus.

The Skukuza Regional Court has handed a 15-year sentence to a man found guilty of poaching-related offences. He was found to have illegally entered the Kruger National Park on two occasions. The second time he entered the park illegally he was out on bail for the first charge.

Private game reserves are buckling under the costs of keeping rhinos safe from poachers. This as the trend shows poachers have set their sights on private reserves. More than 250 rhinos were poached in the first half of the year.

Rhino conservation groups say a collaborative, cross-border approach is needed to stop poaching. South Africa lost 259 rhinos to poaching in the first half of the year. Private game reserves are increasingly targeted by poachers, forcing them to increase security measures.

Drei Männer, die des illegalen Besitzes und Handels mit zwei Elefantenstoßzähnen im Wert von etwa 104 000 N$ im Jahr 2019 in Walvis Bay angeklagt waren, wurden am vergangenen Mittwoch von der Swakopmunder Bezirksrichterin Gaynor Poulton in allen Punkten freigesprochen.

Three men charged with illegally possessing and trafficking two elephant tusks worth around N$104,000 in Walvis Bay in 2019 were acquitted on all counts by Swakopmund District Judge Gaynor Poulton last Wednesday.

Three men accused of smuggling with elephant tusks in Walvis Bay in 2019, were acquitted of all charges in the Swakopmund's regional court.

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

Four people have been arrested for trying to sell a pangolin for R250 000. They were arrested at a North West mall while attempting to find a buyer. The pangolin was found in their car and taken to safety.

Four suspected poachers have been arrested. Two were found in the Kruger National Park on Monday and the other two were arrested on Tuesday. This week, two other men were sentenced to 19 years in prison after they were arrested for poaching.

Two rhino poachers have been sentenced to an effective 19 years' imprisonment for a 2019 poaching incident in the Kruger National Park. The Regional Court in Skukuza in Mpumalanga sentenced Micheal Chauke, 57, and Americo Mathonsi, 59, on Thursday. The men were found to have killed two rhinos on 22 May 2019, said police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli.

Two rhino poachers have been sentenced to an effective 16 years' imprisonment each. The men were arrested in February when rangers from the Lower Sabie and Crocodile Bridge sections of the Kruger National Park reacted after three armed suspects were seen entering the park by crossing the border between South Africa and Mozambique, said police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.

Five men have been arrested in the Western Cape in connection with the illegal possession of more than 5 600 succulents. The arrests were the result of an integrated operation between the police,  Malmesbury Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit and Cape Nature, said police spokesperson Sergeant Luqmaan Adams on Thursday. "The suspects were arrested after they were stopped and searched on the N7 close to Vanrhynsdorp.

Three men accused of rhino poaching have each been sentenced to an effective 35 years in jail. They were found in possession of rhino horn valued at R1.5 million. The accused were found to have killed three female rhinos in 2018.

The defence team representing three men accused of the illegal possession of, and dealing in two large elephant tusks worth about N$104 000, argued that there is no law in Namibia stating that a person is required to get a dealers permit when a permit to possess that product exists. Dirk Vermeulen (50), Edgar Clarke (41) and Michael Lusse (60) were arrested at Walvis Bay in 2019 during a sting operation involving the Namibian Police's Protected Resources Unit after they intended to sell the two tusks.

A 50-year-old woman appeared in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's Court on Tuesday for possessing two elephant tusks. Karina Cloete was arrested at the harbour town on Monday after police got a tip that she had the tusks. She was charged under the provisions of the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act. She was granted bail of N$10 000 and her case was postponed to 10 February this year to allow for further police investigations.

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.

Five men, of which three escaped, were caught by the police and anti-poaching units at Karibib in connection with poaching on Friday.

Poaching has risen to alarming levels in the Karibib district during the past three months, with dozens of large game animals having been butchered, injured and some having to be put down. "Covid-19 must have contributed to the sharp increase in poaching. People lost their jobs and are hungry, so there is a demand for meat. The festive season is also around the corner, so this also contributes to an increase," Butzi Kühne of Kühne Security and Anti-Poaching Unit told The Namibian.

Three suspected poachers who were arrested last week by Erongo police officers made their first appearance in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's court last Wednesday. Penrich Gonteb (29), Elvis Anamab (37) and Gerson Mbahuma (49) appeared on charges relating to the contravention of the Nature Conservation Ordinance 4 of 1975 as amended, which includes the prohibition of hunting in game parks and nature reserves; as well as transportation of game without a permit. They were not granted bail and will be held in custody until their next appearance on 29 July.

The police are hunting for suspected poachers who abandoned two bakkies and seven oryx carcasses in the desert before fleeing the scene over the past weekend.

Three men accused of dealing in or possessing two elephant tusks at Walvis Bay last year denied guilt on the charges they are facing during an appearance in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

Two men appeared in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's Court on a charge of dealing in elephants tusks on Monday.

An illegal immigrant from Angola was part of a gang of three men arrested last week for poaching in the Otjimbingwe district in the Erongo region. An incident report by Erongo crime investigations coordinator Erastus Iikuyu indicated that Benicio Tavalu (40), an Angolan who only had an Angolan voter's card in his possession, was arrested with Namibians Simson Katambo (42) and Titus Kamati (26) last Thursday.

A protected black rhino in the Erongo Mountain Rhino Sanctuary nearly lost a foot after it was caught in a snare set by poachers recently.

A 33-year-old man made his first appearance in the Karibib Magistrate's Court yesterday after he was found in possession of oryx meat believed to have been poached.

Karibib District Watch members arrested four suspects on Wednesday night for poaching an oryx in the Wilhelmstal area. An incident report from the Karibib District Watch stated that at around 21h00, gunshots were heard on a farm in the area, suggesting the presence of poachers. Three teams of the watch group's members were immediately dispatched, with the Karibib, Omaruru and Okahandja police called to assist, together with the Omaruru District Watch.

Erongo police are hunting for suspected poachers who killed a pregnant rhino cow on a game lodge near Omaruru over the weekend. The owner of the farm declined to comment, and requested this newspaper not to mention the name of the lodge for fear that it may attract more illegal activity for the rest of the game on the farm.

A defence force member and two other men from Okahandja appeared in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's Court yesterday on charges of possessing two rhino horns. The soldier, Petrus Mutako Damaseb (49), who is based at Okahandja, and Steven Omeb (29), appeared in court yesterday and were denied bail, while the third man was released due to lack of evidence linking him to the alleged crime.

Three Zambians and a Namibian, the latter suspected to be a former policeman, were arrested last Friday after poaching a black rhino at the Erindi private game reserve near Omaruru.

The environment minister, Pohamba Shifeta, described the latest rhino and elephant poaching figures as "a pity", saying his ministry will do all it can to keep these figures from rising further. According to figures released by the minister yesterday, three more rhino carcasses, possibly poached for their horns, were recently discovered in the Etosha National Park, pushing the figure of known rhino mortalities up to 37 this year, which brings the total rhino deaths since last year to 162.

What was described as excellent cooperation between the Omaruru District Watch and the police resulted in two white rhinos being saved from poaching and four suspected poachers arrested.

Aron Uiseb must have been a happy man when Omaruru magistrate Abel Sankwasa fined him N$250 which was wholly suspended for three years, after he pleaded guilty to poaching a leopard at Ai Aiba lodge near Omauru a year ago. The Namibian understands a leopard trophy is worth between N$50 000 and N$90 000.
Not only did Uiseb escape paying N$250 if he is not convicted of the same offence in the next three years, the N$15 000 he deposited as bail will be returned to him.

It is not just the stock theft figures for 2013 that are staggering, but the poaching of wildlife is just as worrisome and one beleaguered farmer from Omaruru can vouch for that.

The Protective Resources Unit (PRU) of the Erongo Police are investigating two incidents of alleged elephant poaching near Khorixas after two carcasses were discovered in the area – one of which the tusks have been removed.