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Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

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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Displaying results 1 - 8 of 8
Saturday, 19 November 2022
Serra G 2022. Corruption aids rhino horn smuggling.

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…

Friday, 7 October 2022
Heita J 2022. Only 36 arrests for rhino poaching this year compared to 80 in 2021.

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.

Wednesday, 17 August 2022
Heita J 2022. Suspected poaching leaves Zambezi elephant dead.

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.

Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Heita J 2022. Botswana national nabbed for suspected poaching in Bwabwata.

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

Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Serra G 2022. Rhino poaching: the trade and the convictions.

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.

Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Serra G 2021. Abalone smugglers sentenced while authorities say drugs are often linked to the trade.

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.

Tuesday, 5 October 2021
Montsho M 2021. Northern Cape man arrested for allegedly selling pangolin for R200K.

Rustenbrug: A 25-year-old man, arrested for allegedly selling a pangolin for R200 000, was released on warning at the Kuruman Magistrate's Court, the Hawks in Northern Cape said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Nomthandazo Mnisi said Sipho Bosman appeared in court on Monday, facing a charge of illegal possession of endangered species, in terms of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004. "The suspect was arrested on Friday, October 1, 2021, after information surfaced about someone who was allegedly selling a pangolin for R200 000".

Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Sicetsha A 2020. Rhino poachers stopped in their tracks by KZN police.

Law enforcement officials in Hluhluwe and Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, have been applauded for the stellar work they displayed in intercepting a group of rhino poachers who were on the verge of claiming the life of one of these endangered animals.

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