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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 - 7 of 7
Tuesday, 25 April 2023
Hlati O 2023. Hawks smell something fishy: 6 held in abalone bust.

Cape Town - Swift response by the Hawks National Intervention Unit (NIU) following a tip-off has led to the arrest of six suspects in connection with the discovery of abalone worth more than R2.8 million. The suspects, aged between 26 and 60, were expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate's court on Tuesday morning facing charges relating to possession of abalone and managing a drying facility.

Wednesday, 8 February 2023
Hlati O 2023. WWF concerned about transnational organised crime targeting iconic rhinos.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says the transnational organised crime networks targeting large conservation areas across Southern Africa remain a serious concern. The WWF was reacting to the 2022 rhino poaching statistics which saw a 40% decline compared to 2021 in the Kruger Park and other national parks across the country.

Monday, 30 January 2023
Nyaungwa N 2023. Namibia rhino poaching surges 93%, mainly in Etosha National Park.

The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached a record high in 2022 after 87 animals were killed compared to 45 in 2021, official government data showed on Monday. Africa's rhino population has been decimated over the decades to feed demand for rhino horn, which, despite being made of the same stuff as rhino hair and fingernails, is prized in East Asia as jewellery and fake medicine. The horns are worth tens of thousands of dollars in illegal Asian markets. The ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said poachers…

Wednesday, 22 June 2022
Movirongo C 2022. Conservation groups join forces to ramp up efforts to curb illegal wildlife trade.

The Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) and Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) recently announced a long-term landmark partnership focused on better comprehending the current state of knowledge about the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), and the economics of IWT in southern Africa.

Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Movirongo C 2022. Environment Ministry moves to intensify security adjustments - Ropes in retired Commissioner.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) has confirmed that it has moved to make security adjustments and to close any loopholes in Etosha National Park to ensure that wildlife crimes, poaching incidences, in particular, do not occur again.

Sunday, 1 May 2022
van der Merwe M 2022. Disguised as coffee beans, stuffed in a geyser: How smugglers hid rhino horns at OR Tambo.

More than 30kg of rhino horn was seized from a female passenger at OR Tambo International Airport after customs officials received a tip-off. But this is by far not the biggest haul - one delivery headed for Malaysia was just shy of 170kg. SARS says more 450kg of rhino horn has been seized from would-be smugglers at OR Tambo alone since mid-2020.

Thursday, 4 February 2021
Movirongo C 2021. Elevated measures set to address poaching in the country - Minister.

"In 2020, we recorded a total of 31 rhinos poached compared to 52 in 2019, 81 in 2018, 55 in 2017, 66 in 2016 and 97 in 2015," Shifeta said. The minister added that by the same token, Namibia recorded a total of 11 elephants poached in 2020, 13 in 2019, 27 in 2018, 50 in 2017, 101 in 2016 and 49 in 2015. As for pangolin, eight live animals have been seized in 2020 as well as five full carcasses, 59 skins, five skin pieces and 924 scales, he added.

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