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Zimbabwe's rhino population remains among the bright sparks on the African continent after it increased by 14 percent from a total 887 in 2017 to now stand at 1,033. The statistics were compiled by Rhino Specialist Groups of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and trade monitoring organisation TRAFFIC, ahead of the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Panama this month.

Authorities are on the hunt for poachers after two carcasses of the endangered White Rhino were discovered on a farm near the Windhoek district. According to the police report, the two Rhinos' were poached between Friday 21 October 2022 and Monday 24 October 2022 at an unknown time at Farm Otjisauona. It is alleged that the suspects unlawfully and internationally hunted the complainant's white Rhinos by means of shooting and removing all the horns.

A spike in seizures of elephant ivory from people emboldened enough to be trying to sell it openly in markets, from their houses, and even at a fuel station, has raised concerns among conservationists about a return of poaching. Police reported the six villagers were arrested on May 3 and 4, 2022, while trying to sell elephant tusks in the mining town of Hwange, in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland North province. On May 1, 57-year-old Collin Tapfumaneyi Chizengeni was more audacious: arrested while trying to sell 21 pieces of ivory from his house in Gutu.

Considering the amount of effort and funds that go into arresting a suspected poacher, and seeing court proceedings through, cases such as this take a signicant toll on the people involved in seeking justice.

Wildlife crime has become one of the central conservation challenges in Namibia, with a total of 174 wildlife species poached in the country last year alone. This number signifies an increase, as 115 were poached in 2018.