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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Kruger National Park, the world's greatest refuge for rhinos, is losing them to poaching faster than they're being born. The park's last rhino may already be alive. It's time to declare an emergency.
Rhino poachers entering Kruger National Park are increasingly being run down by packs of unleashed hunting hounds in full cry, followed by a chopper tracking their hi-tech GPS collars. As the baying pack approaches, the poacher has no idea the dogs are trained to not attack. They won't bite him (there are legal implications), but if he tries to harm the dogs, rangers will fire from the chopper. The poachers know this and no dog has yet
been lost to a poacher’s bullet.
The Kruger National Park has a major rhino-poaching crisis, but that's just one of many mounting problems - and it's extremely worrying.
The Randfontein Police working under the West Rand District Police together with the West Rand K9 unit arrested four male suspects for illegal possession of ivory on Friday, 15 January. According to Captain Mavela Masondo, Provincial Police spokesperson, the four suspects, aged between 29 and 37 were arrested in the parking area of the Randgate Library.
Anti-poaching initiatives instituted by Zimbabwe are bearing fruits as the country recorded a 78 percent decline in rhino poaching incidents in the first six months of 2020 compared to same period last year. Statistics from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) show that four rhinos were poached from January to June 2020. The figure for January - June 2019 was 19.
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ZIM_2020-10_Anti-poaching initiatives pay dividends_The Southern Times.pdf | 164.87 KB |
Wild animals are back. Kangaroos bounding through the streets of Melbourne, elephant herds passing through Indian villages, jackals in Johannesburg, leopards in Mumbai, wild boar in Bergamo and Verreaux eagles catching thermals above a silent Cape Town. And of course, inevitable cartoons of humans in surgical masks staring forlornly at animals playing on the sidewalk. Is lockdown good news for creatures - or for poachers?
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SA_2020-05_How the Coronavirus changes poaching strategies_Daily Maverick.pdf | 457.64 KB |
The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, has called on the Namibian police to enforce strict bail conditions to reoccurring poachers as many of the wildlife trafficking incidents that have been reported are mostly committed by criminals who have been released from police custody on bail. He said that because the poaching business in enticing and profitable, many of the suspects commit the same offense immediately after being released on bail as no one is carefully monitoring their movement and whereabouts.
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NAM_2019-09_Poachers roaming Namibian streets freely_Informante.pdf | 348.13 KB |