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 Wildlife Justice Commission said a threat assessment on the state of rhino horn trafficking in the past decade showed that much was needed to fight the trade via law enforcement, policymakers and conservation. The assessment found that over the last decade, six countries dominated the supply chain as source, transit and destination locations and that a third of rhino horns were smuggled unconcealed, suggesting a potential reliance on corruption to move shipments along the supply chain. They found that large amounts of harvested horns have been diverted from legal…
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SA_2022_11_Corruption aids rhino horn smuggling_IOL.pdf | 294.55 KB |
Only 36 people have been arrested for rhino-related poaching cases this year, compared to 80 last year. This was revealed by environment minister Pohamba Shifeta as the ministry received a donation of 10 vehicles, park management and law enforcement equipment worth approximately N$ 21.7 million funded by the Integrated National Park Management II (NamParks V and Covid-19 Fund) and Integrated Wildlife Protection (IWPP) projects. In contrast, 55 rhinos have been poached this year, compared to 44 in 2021. Two elephants have been poached so far this year compared to eight in 2021.
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NAM_2022_10_Only 36 arrests for rhino poaching this year compared to 80 in 2021_Eagle FM.pdf | 393.97 KB |
The first eight months of 2022 saw 48 rhinos poached, four times more than the rhinos poached in 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced on Wednesday. The country recorded 44 rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017. The Etosha National Park alone saw 20 cases this year, with two carcasses discovered in the area just last week. In total, 32 poached rhinos are black and 16 are white. A total of 12 black rhinos were poached on custodianship farms and 16 white rhinos were poached on private farms.
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NAM_2022_09_48 rhinos poached in 8 months_Namibia Economist.pdf | 708.58 KB |
Namibia saw 48 rhinos killed for their horns in the first eight months of 2022, four more than the 44 cases reported in 2021. The country recorded 44 rhinos poached in 2021, 42 in 2020, 57 in 2019, 83 in 2018, and 55 in 2017. Etosha National Park alone saw 20 cases this year, with two carcasses discovered in the area just last week. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said of the poached rhinos, 32 are black and 16 are white.
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NAM_2022_09_48 rhinos fall prey to poachers_The Namibian.pdf | 565.58 KB |
The police in the Zambezi region have urged public assistance to trace a suspected poacher for arrest. The suspect allegedly fatally shot the elephant bull on Monday, 15 August, and the community members of Batubaja Village made the discovery. It was further reported that the elephant was shot and died in Batubaja area. The incident is believed to have occurred at around 15h00 in the afternoon. No suspect has been arrested so far, and the investigation is at an advanced stage.
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NAM_2022_08_Suspected poaching leaves Zambezi elephant dead_Eagle FM.pdf | 407.05 KB |
Environment and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta today revealed that a 40-year-old Botswana male, a suspected poacher, is receiving medical treatment at Rundu State hospital after being shot by Bwabwata national park staff and wildlife protection services last week Tuesday. Shifeta said at a press conference today that Park staff on regular patrol laid an ambush after discovering a giraffe’s fresh carcass in a snare wire and hanging biltong
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NAM_2022_06_Botswana national nabbed for suspected poaching in Bwabwata_Eagle FM.pdf | 236.59 KB |
Cape Town - Poaching continues to decimate the rhino population with 451 rhinos poached in South Africa last year, 327 of them from government reserves and 124 from private property.
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SA_2022_03_Rhino poaching_the trade and the convictions_IOL.pdf | 382.22 KB |
Cape Town - Two men who were caught with R9 million rand worth of abalone have been sentenced to a year behind bars while authorities have warned this is still a very serious crime being committed and is often linked to the drug trade.
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SA_2021_10_Abalone smugglers sentenced while authorities say drugs are often linked to the trade_IOL.pdf | 323.48 KB |
With conservation funding affected by the lockdown, a number of areas in north-western Namibia’s rhino range have been left exposed by the lack of tourists thus requiring extra patrolling. With the donation of 1,000 ounces of gold by B2Gold, the launch of the B2Gold Rhino Gold Bar in January 2020 and the subsequent sale of 600 bars to local buyers, the B2Gold Rhino Gold Bar Advisory Committee has responded to the crisis.
Local short film, ‘Baxu and the Giants’ will have its first public screening of the year at the DHPS Auditorium, on Thursday, 6 February. Entrance is free but any donations to the Save the Rhino Trust will be welcome.
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NAM_2020-02_Anti_rhino poaching short film to screen at DHPS next week_Namibia Economist.pdf | 619.62 KB |